Saudade
by avalanches
Summary: After the death of her parents, Sloane Saunders is determined to show her aunt and uncle that she's perfectly fine in her new town of Forks, Washington. However, there's something mysterious about the town and the secrets that it seems to hold. The Cullen kids in particular, especially since Jasper Hale is the only one who seems to know exactly what she's feeling inside. JASPER/OC
1. Prologue

Sloane had never wanted to hear Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love" less than she did standing next to her aunt Rachel above a giant hole in the ground where her mother and father would be lowered into less than ten minutes from that moment.

She wasn't sure who had picked the music. Most of it had been songs her parents hadn't even liked, but no one thought to ask Sloane to select songs that would play at her parents' funeral. No one had wanted to bother her. Unfortunately, hearing things like The Smiths or Bryan Adams, who her parents hadn't even liked, was bothering Sloane more than the fact that she hadn't been the one to pick out what music played in intervals between speakers. Still, even the crappy music that she assumed her father's friends had picked out was better than listening to the familiar smooth tune of one of Elvis's most popular songs.

Because whoever had picked this song obviously knew her parents. "Can't Help Falling in Love" was their song. It was the song they had danced to at their wedding, the song that had been playing over the hospital radio when Sloane had been born, and the song that had been playing over the sound of chicken sizzling when a gas leak had engulfed their house in flames. This was the song that Sloane had grown up with her parents listening to. And while she had stayed dry-eyed throughout her aunt's speech, throughout her maternal grandmother's sobs, and throughout her pseudo-uncle's beautiful guitar solo meant for her late father, she felt the weight of it crashing into her when she heard the Elvis hit. She wasn't sure what "it" was, but she felt it closing her throat and she felt the tears forming in her eyes.

Which was the only reasonable explanation for running out on her own parents' funeral.

Halfway through the second verse she broke away from her aunt and rushed through the cemetery, ignoring the worried calls of various family members who had been asking her all day if she was okay. And when they had asked, she had been. She had been blissfully numb, unaware of what feeling was anymore. But the second that Elvis song had started playing, it was like this switch had been turned on and suddenly she felt everything tenfold. So, she ran until she couldn't hear the familiar tune anymore. She was on the other side of the cemetery, across the street and in front of a random florist shop that was strategically placed (because when you went to visit a grave, wouldn't the polite thing to do be bringing flowers?) and a building that looked like no one had touched it for years.

That's where her aunt and uncle found her an hour later, sitting on the curb in front of the florist shop with a stony expression on her face. She was fairly certain the back of her dress would have dusty cement on it when she stood, but she didn't care. Sloane shifted slightly when her uncle sat next to her on the curb, throwing his arm around her. She accepted the embrace, leaning her head onto his shoulder.

"You doing good, kid?" Her uncle Brandon had always been one of her favorite people. It was her mother's brother-in-law, married into the family but part of it, nonetheless. Now, she was just thankful that he asked the question with genuine concern and not just condolence-filled pity, like so many others had. Though, she supposed she would be genuine too if she had to take in a kid whose parents had just died.

Sloane nodded. "I'm fine now. I just didn't want to hear that song." And she never wanted to hear it ever again.

"Understood." And that was that. She knew Brandon wouldn't ever play it again, just because she had said so. He was understanding in that way. Sloane looked up at her Aunt Rachel's face, at the softness there, and understood that her aunt would never play it either. "You ready to go? We'll go pick up your bags from your grandmother's house and catch your flight. It's at seven, so we can grab something to eat at the airport."

Right. Sloane was moving. Among all the funeral plans and funeral process, she had forgotten that her parents being dead meant relocating. Her grandmother from her mother's side had demanded that Sloane come and live with her, but Amy and Garrett Saunders had made it clear when they said they had wanted Sloane to live with Rachel and Brandon, should anything have happened to them. Sloane wondered that if they knew something was going to happen, they would have chosen differently, but she doubted it. Her aunt and uncle had always been the more reasonable option. "Sounds like a plan," Sloane said softly, accepting her Aunt Rachel's hand and allowing herself to be pulled upwards, righting herself once gravity hit. The three parts of the dysfunctional family made their way to Brandon's beat up Honda, and Sloane spotted the Washington license plates, faded slightly over time but still depicting the state she would now be living in.

She remembered the day her aunt and uncle moved to Forks. Sloane's mother, Amy, had spent the entire day sobbing and hugging her sister close with goodbye in her voice every time she spoke. Sloane had visited them at their home several times over the course of the ten years they had lived there, but now that it would be her home, she knew it would feel unfamiliar. Sloane wasn't looking forward to the uncertainty of new rooms, new walls, and a new house altogether. As the blonde slid into the old car, her mind wandered off, back to before the fire, when her parents were still alive. Before Sloane had been designated an orphan and Rachel and Brandon had to worry about taking care of a teenager that wasn't their own. Sloane wasn't even sure they had ever wanted kids of their own, and now they were stuck with one. She didn't know how she could apologize for something like that.

After ten minutes of driving, Sloane felt the car pull to a stop in front of her Grandma Susan's house. The elderly woman was waiting out in the front yard, big smile on her face and arms outstretched for the hug she knew Sloane would need. Once the car had fully slowed and Brandon had cut the engine, Sloane was jumping out of the car and rushing to her paternal grandmother, accepting the embrace with a sigh of relief. While Amy's mother had never really approved of Sloane's father and was always cold towards her granddaughter, Garrett Saunders's mother was different. It was the only person Sloane would consider living with had Rachel and Brandon not agreed to take her in. Her grandmother was the person who helped Sloane get through the first few hours of shock, holding the teenager as she cried.

"Hi baby," her grandmother said affectionately, running her hand through the ends of Sloane's long blonde hair. "I've got your stuff inside. Luckily the firefighters got most of the flames controlled before it hit the back end of the house, so most of your stuff is okay. Some things are a little charred, but we'll make sure we clean all the ashes off, yeah?" Sloane felt herself nod as Susan wrapped her arm around Sloane's shoulders and started to lead her into the house. "Some of your parents' things were okay, too, so I added those in. I thought you might like to go through it and see what you want to keep. I'd be more than happy to split the rest between me and Amy's mother."

"Thanks, Grandma," Sloane replied, separating from her grandmother to walk through the threshold of the door. There were piles of neatly organized boxes sitting in her grandma's living room, and Sloane noticed with a heavy heart that her grandma had actually taken the time to mark what each box contained. For once, she ignored her own stuff and made her way to where her grandma had set out her parents' possessions. There wasn't a lot, but Sloane noticed that one of the firefighters had recovered her mother's wedding ring. It was a tiny diamond, since her father hadn't been able to afford much at the time, but as he worked his way up in his publishing company, he had bought a sparkly diamond wedding band for Amy to add. The band had separated from the ring due to the heat, but they were still mostly intact, save for needing a severe cleaning. "Grandma," Sloane said, and she felt Susan move to stand next to her. "Can I -"

"It's all yours, sweetie," Susan said, and Sloane nodded. She just wanted the ring, not so much the wedding band. It was just a reminder of the beginning of her parents' marriage. Her grandma pocketed the wedding band when she realized Sloane wasn't going to take it and smoothed some hair behind Sloane's ear. "Anything else you want to take? Whatever you want, you take, alright?"

Sloane nodded and examined the leftover items once more. Her grandmother was right when she said there wasn't a lot left, but it all meant something. Still, she knew that both her grandmas deserved to have some things left of their own children. "I think I just want the ring. Thanks, Grandma."

"Of course, baby," Susan replied, pressing a quick kiss to Sloane's hair before moving to where her granddaughter's boxes lined the walls. "Need some help carrying this stuff out? Now, I know Forks is freezing, so I packed some of my own jackets because the good Lord knows I don't need them in the middle of Texas. They aren't the most stylish, but they'll do the job."

"We would have taken her shopping," Rachel said, an odd look crossing her face. Susan was quick to nod her head.

"Of course, I know. I just wanted to help out with any expenses I could. I appreciate you taking her in," Susan told Rachel, giving her a quick smile. "And I want you to call me if you have any troubles. Money, food, anything. I know this one can be a handful," Susan joked, nudging Sloane's shoulder with her own.

"Yeah, she's an awful kid, all right," Rachel replied, the same joking tone in her voice. "In all seriousness, despite the circumstances, Brandon and I got real lucky with this one. I know she'll have no trouble at all. She's mature for her age." Before she plucked the box from the ground, Rachel squeezed Sloane's shoulder. "We're heading out after we get your stuff in the car, okay? We'll give you a few minutes." Sloane watched her aunt walk back out through the front door and realized there was only one box left at her feet, which she could easily carry. She gave her grandma a watery smile.

"I'll email you lots, and send you postcards," Sloane promised, reaching out and hugging her grandmother once more. It was nice to hold onto something so familiar. "I'll come back and visit whenever I can."

"I know you will, I'll just miss you," Susan replied, letting out a sigh that ruffled the strands of Sloane's hair. When they broke away, Susan had tears in her eyes. "Well, off you go, then. You don't want to miss your flight. Call me as soon as you land, alright? You have my number memorized?"

"As if I could ever forget it," Sloane answered, rolling her eyes. "Love you, grandma."

"Love you too, baby. Try not to be sad. I know it's hard. Believe me, I know. But it'll all be okay, in the end. You might end up loving Forks. Who knows? I know living with Rachel and Brandon will help. They seem like wonderful people."

"They are." She looked out to see them loading the box Rachel was holding into the car and took that as her cue that it was time to leave. Sloane lowered herself into a crouch, wrapping her arms around the last box on the ground and stood upright once more, smiling at her grandmother. "See you soon."

"See you soon, baby. Hope your flight is good."

Sloane nodded in acknowledgement and made her way through the front door, looking over the box to make sure she wasn't going to trip on anything. Once she was safely to Brandon's Honda, she shoved the last box in the backseat with her. Brandon was letting Rachel fly home with Sloane while he transported all of Sloane's stuff in his Honda. He would arrive back in Forks a couple of days after they did. She was grateful, since this meant she didn't have to try and shove all of her things in a suitcase or carry on, or get a U-Haul. She didn't want to burden her aunt and uncle more than she already had. When she got into the backseat, she sent a final wave to her grandmother before Brandon was pulling away from the curb.

They got to the airport at five-thirty, which gave them time to eat and get Sloane some reading material for the plane ride. After making sure both Rachel and Sloane had their boarding passes, he bid them a goodbye and made his way back to the Honda to start the drive back up to Washington. Sloane sat quietly with her aunt in the tiny airport, silently staring ahead of her as Rachel flipped through a magazine.

"You alright?" Rachel asked, reaching over to squeeze her hand.

"I'm fine." Sloane had been saying the words so much that she wondered if it was the only word she knew now. "Aunt Rachel?"

"Yeah?"

Sloane turned her hand over so she could grip her aunt's fingers. "Thanks for letting me stay."

Rachel's eyes softened and Sloane noticed how much Rachel looked like her older sister in that moment. "Oh, kid," Rachel said affectionately, "I wouldn't let you go anywhere else."

This thought comforted her, and when she heard Elvis's "Can't Help Falling in Love" start to play as background music in the airport, Sloane didn't get overwhelmed and run away, like she had at the funeral. She simply grabbed her headphones from her carry-on and clicked the shuffle button on her iPod.

* * *

 **Welcome to my new story! While I'm suffering major writer's block for Sleepwalker, the idea for Saudade came into my head and I just couldn't let go of it. I really hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!**


	2. One

High school. The official definition for high school was as followed: a school that typically comprises grades nine through twelve, attended after primary school or middle school. To different teenagers, the meaning of high school was very different. Some might think the definition of high school was " _personal hell_ " or " _Satan's headquarters_ " while other teenagers thought it was " _the place where you really find yourself._ " All of these things weren't incorrect. High school might have been great for one person and absolutely awful for the next.

Sloane Saunders defined high school as the perfect play.

Here, at Forks High School, it was her time to shine. The setting, a rainy town in Washington that she'd been living in for the past three months with her aunt Rachel and uncle Brandon. The plot, the first day at a new school with faces she hadn't seen since kindergarten. And the character, the new girl who was determined to not let anyone know about why she ended up living there. Sloane was determined to be happy. She'd been doing alright for the past three months, but being locked up in a house where she could be alone with her thoughts was an extremely different scenario than being thrown into a mix of kids her age, most of whom didn't care about anything substantial. Even though she'd been trying to, for the sake of the aunt and uncle that had taken her in, she didn't have to hide her grieving around them because they knew what was wrong. These new kids, at a new school, didn't know and probably didn't care.

The morning of her first day, Sloane slipped into an outfit consisting of jeans, a plain black V-neck, and one of her grandmother's heavier jackets. She had experienced Forks's colder weather for the past three months (it mattered none that it was the middle of May when she had moved to the wet and rainy town) and knew better than to try and leave the house without it. She had also become accustomed to the fact that wearing makeup was pointless, considering it would rain halfway through the day, so she simply made her way down the hall, where her aunt was flipping a pancake on a skillet.

If there were two people who were affected by Amy and Garrett Saunders's death more than Sloane, it was her aunt Rachel and uncle Brandon. For three months they'd had to put up with Sloane's bouts of sadness as well as become accustomed to taking care of a teenager that didn't belong to them. Sloane was proud to say that they were doing extremely well, save for a few moments in which they'd forgotten that it was a mandatory task was to take Sloane to a counselor to talk about the death of her parents, but the sessions were over now and they no longer had to worry about that. Rachel smiled and looked over at Sloane when she walked into the kitchen, holding up the skillet as a way of greeting.

"Morning, kiddo," Rachel said happily, scooping out the pancake with a spatula and sliding it onto a plate. "We've got jam, jelly, butter, syrup, chocolate syrup, whipped cream, fruit. Anything you want." Sloane made a mental note to thank both her aunt and uncle at the end of the day, since she knew that before she had moved in, they had no reason to buy chocolate syrup, whipped cream, or the strawberries they knew Sloane liked (considering her uncle Brandon was allergic). "And then, we have orange juice and milk, the latter of which you can mix some chocolate syrup into to make chocolate milk. There's water as well, but water's boring."

Sloane took a slab of butter and smothered her pancake with it before spooning some strawberries onto her plate. Rachel sent her a smile as she sat next to her at the bar, her own pancake drenched in chocolate syrup and whipped cream, topped with a cherry that made the breakfast resemble an ice cream sundae more than pancakes. "Thanks, aunt Rachel."

"Of course," Rachel replied, giving Sloane's shoulder a quick squeeze. "I called and talked to Shelly Cope this morning and she's got all your papers set up, along with your schedule. She said you had the option of getting someone to show you around the campus, but I figured you'd be fine. It's a relatively small school, and once you get the building names, the classrooms are easy to find. You get out at two-thirty, so it'll probably be Brandon picking you up." Rachel snapped her fingers excitedly. "That reminds me! I've found an awesome used car that doesn't have a ton of miles on it, and it's all yours if you check it out and decide you like it. Brandon thinks he found a car for you, but I saw one that I liked better. We'll buy it for you and you can pay us back when you've gotten a job or something."

All the information was spinning in Sloane's head. _Ms. Cope. School. Car._ It was all so much crammed into such a short amount of time. Still, she managed to filter through Rachel's speech and nod. "That sounds awesome, aunt Rachel. Thanks. What time do we need to leave for school?"

Rachel brought her wrist up to her eyes and winced. "Now. You all ready to go?" Sloane nodded and grabbed the old backpack she had used for the previous two years of high school, swinging it over her shoulders. The two girls trekked to Rachel's tiny car and Sloane managed to squeeze herself into the front seat, immediately pressing the button that allowed her to back up from the dashboard. In the past three months, Sloane had gotten used to the winding, green roads that Forks had to offer, but the path to the school was unfamiliar. However, it was a quick ride and Sloane found herself staring at the plain building with disinterest, neither happy nor sad about attending. "You gonna be alright today?" Rachel asked as she too stared at the building. "If it's too much, I can drive you back home. We can try another day."

"It's always going to be looming. Might as well get it over with," Sloane replied, shaking her head. She needed to do this. She needed to get out of the car, and go to school. The sense of normalcy school offered had to be better than sitting alone and wallowing in self-pity. "I'll be fine."

Sloane had her hand wrapped around the door handle, prepared to open up the passenger side of Rachel's car when her aunt's hand suddenly wrapped around her arm, ceasing Sloane's movements. "Hey, kid?" Rachel asked, and Sloane gave her a questioning look. "I...I'm really proud of you. For doing this. For being so awesome about this whole thing. You're... well, let's just say you're one of a kind, Sloane."

Rachel looked like she was trying not to cry, and once again, Sloane was reminded that this girl had lost her older sister. Sloane gave her a soft smile and nodded. "Thanks, aunt Rachel. And you know," Sloane gently reminded, giving her aunt a nudge to make sure Rachel was listening, "you're doing really great with me. Under the circumstances," Sloane joked, and the sound of Sloane's laugh made Rachel smile. "I appreciate that. You taking me in."

"I love you, kid." Sloane accepted the hug that Rachel offered, and when she closed her eyes, the embrace felt almost as comforting as one of her mother's. "Now get in there and show them what Sloane Saunders has to offer."

"Will do. I'll see you later today." Rachel nodded at Sloane's statement and the blonde finally pushed open the door to the car, grabbing her backpack and swinging it over her shoulder once more. With a final wave, Sloane shut the door to Rachel's car and made her way to the building labeled as the office, trying to ignore the looks she got on her way. _Ignore them_ , she reminded herself. _Ignore them and smile_.

And smile she did. When she walked into the office, Shelly Cope seemed to be waiting for her. Sloane recognized the look of pity in the redheaded woman's eyes immediately and braced herself for the mandatory condolences that people seemed to feel the need to give. Thankfully, it never came. "You must be Sloane Saunders? I spoke briefly to your aunt — Rachel Fischer?" At Sloane's nod, the secretary grabbed a handful of papers, neatly delivered in a stack. "We have your class schedule, a map of the campus, and a sheet that needs to be signed by all your teachers today, just stating you were given the proper materials for the course and such. Oh — and you'll need to go to the library later today and grab your books. I'm sure one of our students would be happy to assist you." Sloane saw the look of pity again. "I hope you have a wonderful first day, Ms. Saunders."

Sloane felt the bright smile she'd been rehearsing for forever slip onto her face. The sight of it seemed to draw a blank for Ms. Cope, who stared at Sloane like she'd grown two heads. "Thank you so much. Have a nice day," Sloane said, giving Ms. Cope a nod before she turned and headed out the door. The smile remained in tact as she walked, her footsteps echoing on the concrete floor. Briefly glancing down at her map, she saw that her first class was Biology, and the classroom wasn't too far from where she stood. Map in hand, she was prepared to start her journey when she looked up and saw a boy that looked as if he were a junior alongside her, smiling almost as brightly as she was. However, one look at this boy and she could tell it wasn't fake. Just very enthusiastic.

"I'm Eric Yorkie," he said, the smile only widening when Sloane gave him a smile in response. "You're Sloane Saunders, right? My dad works with Brandon," he added before Sloane could ask how he knew her name. "What building are you headed to? I could help you find it?"

"Thanks," Sloane replied, unable to answer any of his previous questions. He seemed like the type to never let anyone else get a word in. "Building one, Mr. Molina?" Sloane noticed his face deflate in just the slightest sadness before he perked up once more.

"I'm in Building two. I'll walk with you," he offered, and before Sloane could say anything else, started off in the direction of the building. "You've got Molina, huh? I've got Banner later on in the day. I've heard good things about both, though. My senior friends told me to sit closer to the back in Molina's class, because he speaks really loudly and you might get a headache."

Sloane doubted the volume of a teacher's voice could give her a headache, but she sent Eric a warm smile when he looked over at her to gauge her reaction. "Right. Great tip. Thanks."

"No problem. So, where are you from? Brandon didn't specify." Sloane wasn't sure if he liked the way he said her uncle's name, so colloquially. It made it sound like he personally knew him, which Sloane was fairly certain he didn't. "Someplace with a 'T,' right?"

She nodded. "Texas. I was born in Arkansas, but I moved to Texas when I was four. Are you..." she wondered how long that walk to Building One was "...are you from here?" She didn't doubt if he was born and raised in Forks. It seemed like a town small enough to drag you into its depths and never release you.

"Yep," Eric replied happily, nodding his head and seemingly pleased that she was asking. "Born and raised. Must have been fun living in Texas. Have you ever been to a rodeo?"

Thankfully, Sloane was saved from answering the question when the building marked with a large **1** painted in black came into view. Sloane debated on whether or not sighing in relief was polite. She decided against it. "Right, well, here we are. It was awesome meeting you, Eric. Maybe we'll have some classes together later on in the day?"

Eric's eyes widened in happiness and he nodded so vigorously that Sloane worried his neck would detach from his head. Though Biology wasn't her strongest subject, she knew this mysterious Mr. Molina would agree with her when she took note that it probably wasn't the best for his neck muscles. "Yeah, yeah, absolutely. See you around, Sloane."

Walking into the new classroom was disorienting. The classrooms at her old school were set up mostly the same, so when a student went from class to class, the layout didn't vary much. She had expected it, but the Forks classrooms were set up extremely differently, and she almost stopped herself the second she was through the door. She noticed several students glance her way and stare as she made her way to Mr. Molina's desk, which was in the front of the classroom rather than in the back, where Sloane had expected it would be. "Morning," she said cheerily to grab the teacher's attention. He turned to look at her in surprise and she immediately offered the slip he was supposed to sign. "I'm Sloane Saunders, the new student."

"Rachel and Brandon's niece, right?" he asked, but didn't look up long to see her nod her head. He bent down and scribbled his signature across the sheet of paper, his pen making small scratching noises as his hand moved. Sloane absentmindedly noticed he was left-handed, and there was a small smudge on the paper from his hand dragging. "Well, welcome to Forks. Would you like to go get your book now, or wait until after school? The other kids had the option of coming yesterday and picking them up, so it's really up to you."

"I'll wait until after school, if that's alright," Sloane replied. "I'd rather get them all at once."

"Completely understandable. Take a seat anywhere you'd like, Ms. Saunders. We'll start class in a few moments." Sloane nodded and made her way to the first open seat she found at the front of the classroom. Rachel had ingrained her brain with studies showing that the students who sat in the back of classrooms were less likely to pay attention and also came across as disinterested, and Sloane needed to play the part of the happy high school student who had no cares in the world. She folded her hands over themselves after unloading her pencils and paper from her backpack. Her teacher gave her an odd look, like he wasn't used to a student being prepared, but shrugged.

Biology was everything she'd expected it to be. A shy girl by the name of Angela slid into the seat next to her when the bell rang, and Sloane was immediately grateful for the kindness Angela offered. Unlike Eric, Angela was genuinely curious instead of being borderline creepy, so Sloane found she didn't have to try very hard to maintain the smile on her face. After Biology was English Composition in Building Six, and Angela offered to walk with her since her classroom was right next door. English was something Sloane had expected as well, scanning over the syllabus of the books they would read in the semester. Sloane wasn't the biggest reader, but maybe being in Forks would change that. She was, after all, a new and improved version of Sloane.

After English was Trigonometry and French, who were taught by teachers on the opposite side of the spectrum. While Sloane could already tell Mr. Varner was going to be a teacher she didn't particularly care for, Madame Durand was sweet in disposition and was very friendly to chat with about when Sloane would need her books by. There was the added bonus that Angela had also forgone taking Spanish as the mandatory second language and waved to Sloane the second the blonde had walked into the French classroom. This meant that Sloane gratefully accepted the invitation to walk to the cafeteria with her for lunch.

"Classes are finally over," a dark-skinned man at the end of the table Angela had led Sloane to, said with a grin, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms at the back of his head. His eyes were closed serenely.

"We've still got two more periods," a tiny girl with wildly curly hair stated, and Sloane jumped when she slammed her tray down on the top of the table, the sound vibrating Sloane's fingers.

"I'm ditching," the man responded, and Sloane could just picture him rolling his eyes behind the closed lids. "I've decided school isn't for me. Maybe I'll run off and join the circus." Sloane watched curiously as he opened his eyes and did a comedic double take, his stare meeting the seemingly new blonde at the table. "Or maybe I'll meet a nice girl and marry young. I'm Tyler," he said, reaching out his hand to shake. Sloane gave him an awkward coughing noise as she accepted his hand, pulling away before he could do something that made her even more uncomfortable, like kiss it.

"I'm Sloane," she replied, smiling politely. "Nice to meet you."

"Sloane Fischer, right?" the dark-haired girl next to her asked, ripping open the top to her applesauce. "Rachel and Brandon's daughter?"

Sloane tried to ignore the glare Eric sent the girl for bringing up what might be considered a taboo topic. However, Sloane was determined to not let it affect her. She shook her head politely. "Sloane Saunders, actually. Rachel and Brandon are my aunt and uncle."

The girl nodded in disinterest as she dipped a spoon into her applesauce. "Oh, right. I forgot. I'm Jessica, by the way. You've met Angela, Tyler, and Eric. The blonde in the lunch line right now —" Jessica pointed a finger to a tiny blonde standing in line, tapping her foot impatiently "— that's Lauren. The guy next to her is Mike, and behind him is Ben. I think as far as introductions go, that's pretty much it."

Sloane nodded, trying to determine what about each student she could identify in order to remember everyone's names. Jessica's hair was easy enough. She had a feeling she wouldn't be forgetting Tyler or Eric anytime soon, given by the way Tyler grinned at her and Eric looked like he wanted to murder the darker-skinned boy. Lauren had a stylish haircut, which was less than Sloane could say about her own growing bangs, and Mike had a baby face that reminded Sloane of a toddler. Since that only left Ben, she could remember his name fine.

"I don't know what the hell is on my plate, but apparently the school district is trying to pass it off as food," Lauren muttered in an annoyed voice when she sat down on Tyler's right side, slamming her tray down almost as harshly as Jessica had. "Seriously, what is this?" She poked it with her fork before she noticed there was someone new sitting at the table. "Oh. Right. We've got a new student. Sloane Fischer, right?"

Sloane found herself dozing off as Tyler, Eric, and Jessica corrected Lauren. Her eyes glazed over the familiar faces in the cafeteria, only familiar now because the school contained a small population. There was the girl from both her English Composition and Trigonometry class who was sitting a couple of tables down, her face mimicking Lauren's disgusted countenance as she stared down at her lunch tray. There was the boy who had sat directly behind she and Angela in Biology, who was chatting with the redhead girl next to him, pressing a kiss to her cheek when he pulled her into a hug. When Sloane's eyes made their way to the opposite corner of the cafeteria, she spotted the table filled with what she would later discover was the Cullen children.

Sloane could see five of them from where she was sitting. There was a burly man — for calling him a boy seemed inappropriate — who looked like he lifted weights for a living. Even without him standing, Sloane immediately knew that he would tower over her barely five-foot-two body. Next to him was a modelesque blonde who was wearing an outfit that looked more expensive than Rachel's car, a disinterested look on her face like the students here couldn't have been more boring. Across the table from the pair was another girl, a complete opposite of the blonde across from her. This girl looked like she might be around Sloane's height and had spiky hair the color of ink. On her right side was a copper-haired boy, who looked much more like a teenager than the other two men at the table. Next to him was a man with honey blonde hair, glaring at his food. It wasn't the same kind of glare Lauren had given her own tray, but more like he was upset about something out of his control rather than the food at the school.

Sloane felt her heart go out to him. Ever since the death of her parents, she had started noticing pain more in others. It was like a bond of empathy. She hoped whatever was making him upset would resolve itself soon.

"So I see you've noticed the Cullens," Jessica said loudly, drawing Sloane back into the conversation. Looking over at Jessica, Sloane raised a brow. "The five kids sitting in the corner over there."

"Right," Sloane said absentmindedly, not really paying attention. Then, her attention caught on the plural Jessica had added to the end of the surname. "Cullens? They're related?" They didn't look anything alike to her. There were some similarities, like the pale skin and the deep purple shading cast underneath their eyes, but Sloane couldn't recognize any other similarities. She was too far away to see their eye color to see if they shared that. The only other thing the five had in common was their striking features, all angular. Sloane could see how they would draw attention in a room.

Jessica nodded and leaned forward in happiness, seemingly eager to tell this particular story. "The elusive Cullens. Not all of them are related, though. Only the two blondes. The rest of them are adopted by Doctor Cullen, the main doctor over at Forks Community Hospital. The bigger one is Emmett Cullen, and the girl next to him is Rosalie Hale. Across from him, with the brown hair is Edward Cullen, and next to him is Alice. Then the last one is Jasper Hale."

As she had done with the rest of her Forks companions, Sloane found things about them to try and remember their names, which wasn't hard since they all had their distinctive faces and features. While she looked at them, she noticed the one Jessica had called Edward looked up at her, as if she had called his name. She sent him a small smile, the one you give a stranger passing by on the street, before she turned her attention back to Jessica.

"I'm surprised you aren't gawking," Jessica said, her voice lower now that she didn't want the attention on her. "The Cullens are weirdly beautiful. Freakishly, actually."

"Where I come from, I was taught that staring is rude," Sloane replied, her tone depicting sugary sweetness but her mind saying that this was a common courtesy Jessica obviously hadn't learned quite yet.

"She comes from Texas," Eric chimed in, happy to be able to provide some information about the new student. Sloane gave him an uncomfortable smile. "You never told me if you'd been to a rodeo."

"Ignore him, I usually do," Jessica whispered again, bringing Sloane's attention back over to her. "Anyway, Emmett and Rosalie are dating, which is seriously weird considering they _live_ together." Sloane shrugged her shoulders, not really interested in their personal lives. If she were being honest, she wasn't interested in them as a whole. She figured she'd have heard about them soon enough since Forks High was so small, and talking about them in hushed whispers felt a lot like gossip, which was something Sloane preferred to avoid.

"But they aren't actually related?" Sloane replied, her voice mimicking the inflection that one used when asking a question.

Jessica's nose crinkled. "Well, no, but they still live together."

"So you've said," Sloane replied, but sent Jessica a smile to keep things friendly between the two of them. Even if she didn't agree much with what Jessica was saying, she had made a promise to herself that she wouldn't cause any drama that would reflect badly on Rachel and Brandon.

"It was really nice of Doctor Cullen and his wife to take them all in," Angela added, sensing Sloane's uncomfortable posture when Jessica started her usual rant on the five students. "Rosalie and Jasper were foster kids, so Mrs. Cullen took them in when they were really young. I think I heard that Mrs. Cullen was their biological aunt or something."

"That was nice of them. It must have been nice being with their aunt as well," Sloane replied, nodding her head as she took a bite of the sandwich she had packed for herself that morning. "Something familiar."

"I don't think she can have kids, so it worked out well for her," Jessica replied. Sloane tried to maintain the smile on her face, but she really couldn't see the problem with the five kids that Jessica was so obviously trying to point out. It seemed like a normal situation. Adoption was normal, especially if the patriarch of the family was a doctor and had the money to do so. And the foster children story seemed normal enough. All in all, Sloane couldn't see the reason Jessica wanted to gossip.

"Can we stop talking about the Cullens?" Tyler asked after Jessica's statement, earning an eye-roll from the brunette. "I'd rather talk about something much more interesting, like our new student." He sent a grin towards Sloane. "Consider me the welcoming committee."

Sloane coughed to disguise her laugh. Tyler was a welcoming committee she neither wanted nor needed.

"What do you want to know? Afraid there's nothing interesting hidden," she replied, shrugging her shoulders. "And you already know I'm from Texas."

"Eric says you weren't originally. You were born in Arkansas? Where?" Mike asked from the other end of the table. Sloane blinked at the unexpected question. Information sure spread fast around Forks High.

"I was born in El Dorado in Arkansas and moved to Midland, Texas, when I was four." She saw Eric open his mouth to speak and she shook her head. "No, Eric, I never went to rodeos. Not my scene." Sloane didn't personally see what was so interesting about her life story, but she supposed it was a small town thing. She was something new in the town of Forks. "I went to the Midland County Fair every year, and that was about it."

"Any boyfriends back home?" Mike asked, ignoring the jab to his stomach that Eric offered. Ben, the only seemingly sensible boy at the table, rolled his eyes. Sloane's eyes widened and this time she really did cough, as she had taken a drink of water before Mike had asked his question.

"You're really diving in with those personal questions, aren't you?" Sloane said with a nervous laugh.

"Don't mind Mike," Angela said before Sloane had to face the embarrassment of answering his question. "How is Forks treating you so far? You've been here since the middle of May, right?"

"Forks is nice," Sloane answered, thankful for Angela's distraction. "I've had some time to get used to the weather. Constant rain is a big change, especially coming from somewhere that has an average of only sixteen inches a year." Angela gave her an encouraging smile. "And I suppose winter will be a lot different. I don't have a lot of experience with snow."

Sloane should have expected it sooner. She knew most of her teachers had known about her parents, thanks to Rachel and Brandon for spreading it around that they were taking in their niece, but she had felt lucky that none of the students had decided to bring it up. Still, when Lauren, with a mild air of disinterest, asked what had brought her to Forks to live with her aunt and uncle, Sloane felt her smile drop just slightly before she quickly righted it.

"Just a change of scenery," Sloane replied before taking another bite of her sandwich, making sure to chew for a while so she wouldn't have to answer any follow-up questions. Her food was turning to gross mush inside her mouth, but anything was better than answering more questions.

"Well, you wanted a change of scenery and you got one," Angela joked, a few people at the table joining her in laughter. Sloane tried to laugh with them, but there was something off about the sound of it.

However, Lauren seemed to have the right sources, for she fixed Sloane with a look covered in kindness that somehow seemed fake. "Really? I heard it was because your parents died, but I could totally be wrong."

Things at the table got silent after that. Sloane's smile was stretching so wide that it hurt her cheeks. Lauren went back to picking at the disgusting school food and Angela leaned over and hissed at Lauren that it was impolite to say something like that. "No, it's fine," Sloane said, smile still in tact. "She's not wrong. However, I've been extremely lucky to be with Rachel and Brandon, so I'm making good what I can from a bad situation." Sloane desperately wanted something to distract herself with, so she pointed to the substance Lauren was poking with the plastic sporks schools so often offered. "I don't think dissecting your pudding is going to make it any more edible."

A few scattered, awkward laughs. Sloane wanted to hit her head on the table. This is exactly why she didn't want people to know. She had dealt with enough of the pity stares in Midland, especially at the funeral, and Forks was supposed to be someplace she could go to get away from that. Desperately searching for an anchor to keep her afloat, her eyes moved around the cafeteria once more until they landed on none other than Edward Cullen, who was staring straight at her as if she were a book he was trying to read. Sloane quickly averted her eyes to someone else at the table, and found the honey blonde — Jasper — who seemed to be the only Cullen that wasn't looking her way.

It was refreshing, not being stared at like she was a lab experiment. She didn't claim to know Jasper Hale at all, but suddenly he was the only one in the entire population of Forks that she wanted to talk to, simply because he wasn't gawking. Staring at him, she took a deep breath before plastering the smile back on her face, somewhat serene this time as she went back to interacting with the people at her table, asking Angela about the French homework Madame Durand had assigned.

Sloane's next class was Gym, which passed by uneventfully. The teacher only mildly embarrassed her by making her introduce herself to the class, but it was nothing worse than Varner had done earlier in the day, and Sloane was determined to keep her sunny disposition. Sloane was slightly happy that they hadn't had to change out into uniforms, since it was the first day of school. Once that was done, she prided herself on the fact that she had made it through the entire day and only had one more class until she could return to her own little world in Rachel and Brandon's house. History wasn't a subject Sloane particularly enjoyed, but it was one she happened to be good at. Remembering things like dates and eras seemed to come easily to her, so she walked into Mrs. Lovejoy's class with a sense of calmness. Due to her passing the advanced placement exam in her sophomore year European History course, she was able to skip the usual junior year American History and went straight to the Government course, which was mostly filled with seniors.

It was in this classroom that she realized she had finally had class with two of the Cullen brothers. Well, one Cullen. Emmett, the burly one. The other was Jasper Hale, the boy that Sloane couldn't help but notice at lunch.

Emmett was sitting next to his brother, and Sloane could see his lips moving as if he was talking to him, but Sloane couldn't hear any semblance of a voice filtering through. Jasper seemed to be receiving his brother's words, but wasn't speaking back to him. Before Sloane could think too much on the pair of brothers, Mrs. Lovejoy cleared her throat and gave Sloane a smile.

"Sloane Saunders, right?" Sloane nodded her head and Mrs. Lovejoy accepted the paper Sloane offered. With a quick flourish, she signed her name across the slip of paper. "Feel free to sit wherever you'd like Sloane." The statement didn't mean much, considering one of the only open seats was in front of the two brothers. Sloane made her way over to the seat and carefully set her backpack on the ground before pulling out her notebook and pencils.

The two brothers behind her were quiet now, no trace of their earlier conversation left in the room. She leaned backwards just slightly to see if they were whispering too low for her to hear, but then quickly berated herself for being nosy. Returning to her normal posture, she set her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands. To Sloane's pleasure, Ben made his way into the classroom shortly after she had situated herself in her seat, and he waved to her with a smile before walking over to the seat next to her, pulling out the chair to the desk and sliding into his seat easily.

"Last class of the day. How was your first day in Forks?" Ben asked politely. She was immediately filled with relief. At lunch he hadn't seemed borderline insane, like her other three male companions had, and she was glad to see that her earlier assumptions of him were correct. "I heard a little bit of what you were saying at lunch. Must be different to be living here from Texas. I bet you had to shop for about a thousand jackets."

"A thousand and one, actually," Sloane replied with a laugh. "No, the climate change was the easiest part of the move. It'll be nice when I can actually experience some snow."

Ben nodded, but before he could reply, Mrs. Lovejoy announced their first assignment, which was easy enough and expected for the first day of classes. Break into groups of four and discuss the syllabus. Sloane smiled again when Ben gave her a pleased look and turned around to see who was behind them. Unlike Jessica, Ben didn't seem fazed with talking to the Cullens, for he gave Emmett and Jasper a kind smile. "Sorry guys, you're stuck with us."

Emmett let out a good-natured chuckle. "No problem. I can finally see what all the fuss is about. You must be the new girl. Sloane Saunders?" he asked, directing his attention to the blonde. She nodded. "Well, I hope you're enjoying Forks. Jasper isn't feeling too well, so you'll have to forgive him if he doesn't discuss the syllabus with us."

When Sloane looked at the topic of Emmett's statement, she could see that he had his head down, staring at the tabletop. She couldn't see his hands, but his arms were flexed like he was gripping something tightly in his hands. He did look like he had a headache, and Sloane immediately felt sorry for him once more. "Of course, it's no problem. I hope you feel better. We'll try not to disturb you." Ben nodded his agreement.

Jasper looked up at her for a fraction of a second, and Sloane saw the beautiful and unique golden color of his eyes. "I appreciate that," he said, but his voice came out strained, as if he was trying hard not to breathe. Sloane detected a bit of a Southern accent in the small sentence he let out, but didn't pester him about it; instead, she hid her slight shock with another smile before she grabbed the syllabus Mrs. Lovejoy was going around and offering. Deciding to be polite, she grabbed one for Jasper and set it in front of him.

"Doesn't seem like anything too unusual on the syllabus," Ben said after a moment of reading it. "After three lates, you get a detention. No cell phones. Test scores count for forty percent. Sounds about right to me." Sloane made a noise of agreement. "Nothing particularly weird to discuss."

Emmett seemed to agree. "You're definitely right about that. Seems easy enough to understand."

Ben and Sloane turned back around in their seats when Mrs. Lovejoy told them to. She explained they would start the actual material tomorrow and that they could leave a bit early, which Sloane appreciated since she still had to go and get all her books. Bidding Ben a goodbye and a promise of seeing him tomorrow, she made her way to the library.

"You must be the new student I've been hearing all about," the librarian mentioned when she brought her books to his desk. "Rachel and Brandon's niece. Great people, they are."

"I certainly think so," she replied kindly, and she smiled when she noticed the librarian had offered her a grin. "Thanks for helping me check these out. I'll definitely be back in sometime. We're studying Shakespeare this year, which means I'll need to check out all the dictionaries that I can."

"Shakespeare isn't difficult once you get the hang of it," the librarian replied with a chuckle. "Do you need help carrying those back to your car?"

Sloane didn't think she did. She was able to fit three in her backpack and the other three in her arms. "I think I'm good. Thanks for the offer, though. It was nice meeting you!"

On the way out of the library and along the trek to Brandon's car in the main parking lot, she noticed the Cullen kids once more. Jasper seemed to be looking a bit better out in the open air, as he was standing next to a shiny silver Volvo and chatting with his other brother, Edward. Again, Edward's eyes shot over to her, as if she had called out to him, along with Alice, who looked more than pleased when she met Sloane's eyes. Sloane managed an awkward wave from underneath the weight of her books before there were suddenly hands underneath hers, offering to grab them.

"Jesus, these are heavy. Don't tell me they actually expect you to learn," Brandon said with a smirk, taking the books from her hands.

"The horror," she replied, rolling her eyes. "They're making me educate myself at an institution of education. It's absolutely asinine." Brandon gave her a playful glare as they made their way over to his car, where he dropped her books into the backseat, with seemingly no regards for the welfare of the texts. "You know if those are damaged, you're going to have to pay for it, right?"

"Someone's in a sarcastic mood today," he replied, but he sent her a smile to let her know there was no sting behind the insult. "Now, get in the car. We're going car hunting. Did Rachel tell you about the used car we found? I bet her five dollars you'd like it better than the one that she wants you to get, so you'd better like it, kid."

Sloane laughed as she slid into the passenger seat of Brandon's car. It was a lot more spacious than Rachel's had been, so she didn't have to move the seat back to make room for her legs. "Hey Brandon? Can I ask you about something?"

"Sure thing." The car roared to life, its engine humming softly when he turned the key in the ignition.

Once again, Sloane sent a quick look over to the Cullen kids, who were piling into the Volvo and a Jeep that was parked right next to it. "What do you know about the Cullen kids?" At Brandon's questioning look, Sloane shrugged. "I met some of them today. People don't really..."

"Talk to them?" Brandon offered and Sloane nodded. "It's because people here are weirded out by them. I don't know why, considering Doctor Cullen is a great man and I've met his wife once or twice; she's the kindest woman to ever walk the Earth. They moved down here around two years ago from somewhere up north. People are just rude, kiddo. Especially in a small town."

"I guess. I just felt bad for them, I suppose. Here I am, the new kid, and everyone's talking to me, but not them." Sloane tried to wrap her head around it. Why did people treat the Cullen kids differently than they treated her?

"Doesn't make sense to me, either." Brandon sent a quick look behind him as he reversed out of the parking space, then drove out of the parking lot and to the main stretch of road. "But, everyone talked to you today? That's good, right? Make some new friends?"

"Yeah, there are some really nice people," Sloane agreed. "One kid, Eric Yorkie, said his dad works with you."

"Randall," Brandon said, nodding. "Good friend."

Brandon quickly pulled up to an unfamiliar house that had an older looking Toyota parked in the front with a _For Sale_ sign on the back. "A 1987 Camry," Brandon said with a grin. "And best part is, it's only got like sixteen hundred miles on it. The kid who bought it was a spoiled brat who wanted a newer version." Brandon winked. "I only say this because I personally know the spoiled brat. But anyway, Rachel wanted you to get a 1980 Camaro, which just didn't say _Sloane_ at all. Plus, the Camaro had almost a hundred and twenty thousand miles on it." He turned to her. "Please say that Rachel owes me five dollars."

Sloane was speechless. She knew that Rachel had mentioned getting her a car, but she hadn't thought that she was being serious, and Sloane had been so ready for school that she hadn't really processed the words. "This car is perfect," she said, her eyes getting a little watery. Knowing that Brandon had an aversion to affection and emotion, she quickly wiped them away before he could see. "I really appreciate this, uncle Brandon."

"Me too," he said happily, "because now your aunt has to give me five bucks. Let me go knock on the door and talk to Johnny. I'll bet we can take that car home tomorrow if I get some money out of the bank and offer cash." Brandon quickly put his own car in park before he got out and rushed to the front door. Sloane saw it open and saw Brandon hug the man that exited, but she was too focused on the car in the driveway, her eyes still watering.

Back home, her car had been crappy and could barely run. But she had bought it herself with all the money she had saved up over the course of her sixteen birthdays and Christmases. It had fallen apart and broken down more times than she could count, but her mother had been a genius when it came to fixing cars, and they always fixed it right up.

Amy wouldn't need to fix this car up. The Toyota looked like it had a long life ahead of it, like it would need no repairs in the future. The thought, while making Sloane incredibly grateful for her new guardians, also made her heart constrict in her chest. There would be no more days of sitting out in the hot Texas sun, listening to her mother's old boombox play a scratched up George Strait album ("the only country singer that mattered besides Johnny Cash," her mother would say) while she handed her mom several tools when asked. After about an hour or two, her father would grab the keys to his own car and offer to grab them lunch and fresh lemonades from the store just down the road. Those days were just memories now, memories she'd have to store in her brain to look back on later when she was driving to school in the pristine Toyota.

Sloane turned up the volume on the radio in Brandon's car to try and drown out the sad feeling that washed over her with music, but heard the beginning of the song she'd been trying to avoid for the past four months and quickly turned the station, instead choosing some Top 40's hit that had no resemblance to Elvis Presley.

When Brandon slid back into the car, he was grinning. "Today just keeps getting better and better. Johnny said we could come back tomorrow and pick it up for you. Things are falling into place, kid, just you see."

If she had been at school in front of peers who didn't know how hard pretending to be happy was, she might have agreed. In the car with Brandon, who had lost two people he had loved as well, she knew she didn't have to. The drive home was mostly filled with Brandon explaining more about the car, and when they walked into the living room after arriving back, Rachel was standing in the small foyer, hands on her hips. "Well?" Rachel asked.

"We're getting the Camry. Pay up, woman," Brandon cheered happily, pressing a kiss to Rachel's cheek before throwing his fist in the air victoriously, like someone who had just won the Olympics. Rachel swore underneath her breath, but rolled her eyes and took Sloane under her arm, wrapping it around the teenager's shoulders. "I say we have celebratory pie tonight. Or in your case, babe, loser pie."

"You can take your ass to the store and get the pie yourself."

"Aw, don't be a sore loser."

"How was your first day, sweetie?" Rachel asked, ignoring her husband. "Did you make any friends? Find all the buildings okay?"

"School was great," Sloane replied, nodding her head. "Met some really nice people and the buildings were super easy to find. I really liked it there." Sloane could detect the lie in her voice, but Rachel didn't, and her smile widened in happiness that Sloane seemed to be adjusting well. The lie had been worth it, especially when Rachel put her hand over her chest in relief.

"I was so hoping that would be the case. Celebratory pie is most definitely needed, then. I'll send Brandon later. What's your favorite? Cherry? Apple? They might be selling pumpkin already if Brandon really searches. Oh, we could get a Mud pie! That's the one that has all the chocolate in it."

Rachel trailed off into the kitchen and Sloane felt herself chuckle. "I'm going to head up to my room, okay? I want to change into some comfier clothes." She barely heard the sound of Rachel replying as she walked down the hallway and to the last door on the right, which had been her room ever since the move. Kicking the door gently to open it, Sloane plopped her backpack down and sat in the little nook next to her window, taking a few moments before she changed to stare at the clouds covering the sky in a shadow.

Her phone pinged, the reminder that she had a phone with texting now. Flipping it open, she saw her grandmother's contact name. _Hope your first day was wonderful. I know your mom and dad were with you. Love you._

Sloane quickly typed a reply. _School was great, I'm really liking it here. I know they were too. Love you more._

As she had for the past three months, Sloane absentmindedly ran her fingers over the cool metal hanging at her neck, sighing in comfort as she felt it. A small, simple diamond ring who hadn't had a proper home in nearly a hundred days.

* * *

 **I'm so glad you guys seem to be liking Sloane so well! On the topic of Sloane, this story is definitely going to be about her development as a character rather than her just being a love interest to Jasper. I really want to make sure I hit all the facets of her as a person, so if there isn't a lot of Jasper in the first few chapters, that's why. I want to make sure Sloane Saunders is established before I introduce the idea of Sloane and Jasper. With that being said, Joane will definitely be a slowburn, so if you don't like reading those, this story probably isn't for you (which is completely fine considering I have a friend who can't stand slowburns, trust me, I understand).**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or anything in the Twilight universe!**


	3. Two

**We're back with another chapter! Thank you so much for the great response on the prologue and first chapter; it really means a lot that you guys seem to like Sloane as a character. I hope you guys enjoy this one as well, with a bit more Jasper in it to keep you guys satisfied.**

* * *

Sloane's first week at school had passed by uneventfully. She surrounded herself with the same people, always making sure to stick close by to Angela and Ben whenever she could since they were the kindest in the little group of friends Sloane had made, and made sure that she was studying enough for any upcoming pop quizzes, which Angela had stated wasn't completely unusual to expect in Varner's Trigonometry class.

Among her normal peers consisting of the people she ate lunch with, Sloane had also been trying to interact more with the two Cullen brothers that sat behind her. Every time she tried to include them in conversations, however, Emmett was the one that did most of the talking, and even then he made sure phrased his answers in a way that made any follow-up questions impossible. He was always polite about it, but Sloane quickly figured out he'd prefer that he and his brother kept to themselves, so after the first three days, Sloane had decided it was a moot point. She didn't have much interaction with the other Cullens, just the occasional friendly wave to Emmett and Jasper's other siblings if she saw them in passing.

The first weekend off of school was spent trying to nurse Rachel, who had developed a slight cold, back to health. This task fell on Sloane since Brandon was working the entirety of the weekend, but it wasn't all bad. It mostly just meant she made sure her aunt took her medicine when she was supposed to and made sure she didn't go to bed without having eaten anything. Sloane was currently sitting on the couch, watching some old reruns of a show Rachel had used to watch as a kid while her aunt angrily popped a thermometer in her mouth, scrunching her face as if willing it to be an acceptable temperature. When the small device between her fingers beeped, Rachel pulled it out of her mouth and stared at it with a grumpy expression on her face.

"It's only a hundred today," Rachel commented, letting out an annoyed sigh. She threw the thermometer towards the other side of the room in a childish gesture that made Sloane want to laugh. "That's not better."

Sloane had quickly realized that her aunt Rachel was the type of person that didn't like being sick. At all. Rachel had been complaining since the fever had hit her Thursday night, and she was still complaining on Saturday morning. Twice Brandon had caught her trying to go out to her car and go into work, which resulted in him yelling about how she was crazy and she'd infect all her coworkers before firmly pushing her back to bed and hiding her car keys in a cupboard in the bathroom. Rachel had tried to get Sloane to tell her where they were, but Sloane kept her mouth shut. "It's better than yesterday," Sloane replied, trying to be positive. Yesterday, her temperature had been a hundred and two.

"It's still sick," Rachel complained, letting her head fall back against the back of the couch. Whatever was on the television had long since kept her attention and mostly served as background noise as the two talked. "I might have to suck it up and let you take me to Doctor Cullen. I'm pretty sure I need antibiotics stronger than Tylenol."

The two and a half days that Rachel had been sick, she had adamantly refused to go to Doctor Cullen. Whenever Brandon suggested it, she would give him a glare so evil that he would quickly either pretend he hadn't mentioned it or leave the room in a timely manner. Another thing Sloane had quickly realized about her aunt: she hated any kind of doctor's office, hospital, or clinic. Rachel was deathly afraid of needles — a fear Sloane remembered her mother having as well — and thought that going to a doctor automatically meant that a shot was inevitable. Sloane would have found her aunt's terror amusing if her health wasn't in question. She remembered her grandma Fran clicking her tongue in disapproval whenever Amy Saunders was sick and refused to go to the doctor. "Trypanophobia isn't a real thing!" Fran would shout.

It was. Sloane had researched it.

"I'll take you if you need me to," Sloane said dutifully, checking the clock. She didn't know what time Forks Community Hospital closed, but it was only one in the afternoon. Most urgent cares back in Texas were open until nine at night, sometimes even later. She figured the hospital was open. "The drive's not far." Especially not with the Camry Brandon had purchased for her. The five dollars he had bet against Rachel had been spent buying his wife medicine, so it wasn't a complete win for him, but Rachel appreciated it, which made him happy. The new car had been driving as smoothly as a car could, with no future of breaking down from what Sloane could tell.

"I might have you," Rachel agreed, holding her hands out. Sloane pushed herself off the couch and offered her hands to her aunt, grasping Rachel's manicured hands and lifting her up off the couch with a pull. A flurry of blankets fell to the floor with the action, but Rachel ignored them, stepping over the bundle as Sloane led her away from the living room and to the coat closet directly next to the front door. Sloane handed Rachel her rain boots and a hefty coat, made for the cold weather of Forks, and opened the front door. "Am I really doing this?"

"You'll be fine. Who knows if they'll give you a shot?"

Rachel glared at her but didn't choose to answer.

Making sure to turn on the heater on the second the car was started so her aunt wouldn't get too cold, Sloane buckled her seat belt and waited for Rachel to do the same. As soon as the both of them were buckled in, Sloane quickly glanced behind her to make sure there was no one driving by before she back up out of the driveway and started on the familiar path down Main Street. Driving in Forks was different than just sitting in the passenger seat, in the way that Sloane couldn't daydream whilst staring at all the green foliage that covered the trees and dirt. It was a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it kept her mind focused on the task at hand; she didn't want to run into a deer or a tree or anything else that Forks offered that Texas hadn't. A curse because daydreaming meant she could tune everything out.

The hospital was easy enough to find, and Sloane pulled into the parking lot after only five minutes of driving. Rachel angrily huffed, but the red tip of her nose let Sloane know that the cold was probably a lot worse than Rachel had let on. "C'mon, aunt Rachel," Sloane said, giving her aunt an encouraging smile. "Let's get this over with, yeah?"

"I hate hospitals," Rachel commented underneath her breath as she reached for the handle of the Camry, pulling it towards her and releasing the pressure that opened the passenger door. "Yeah, let's get this over with," Rachel agreed, swinging her body out of the car and into the Forks frost. Sloane followed her lead, helping Rachel to the front of the hospital.

Sloane noticed Forks Community Hospital was kept at a delightfully warm temperature, warm enough for Sloane's teeth to stop chattering. Rachel waved at the receptionist at the front of the hospital, who gave her a look. "Afternoon, Cecily," she muttered to the curly-haired woman whose eyes were narrowing as Rachel spoke.

"I told you to come in the second you had a fever," Cecily responded in a way of greeting, a bite to her words. "You're a day and a half late."

"I'm here now," Rachel reminded her as Cecily grabbed a clipboard and a pen, thrusting them into Rachel's open hands with a little more force than Sloane thought was necessary. Still, Sloane tried to hold in her laughter. "Have you met my niece, Sloane?"

Cecily seemed to have noticed that Sloane was being used as a distraction, for she gave Sloane a look that read ' _Your aunt is a piece of work_.' However, she gave Sloane a small smile. "I'm Cecily. Nice to meet you, Sloane. Your aunt talks about you all the time. Well, whenever I can get her to actually have lunch with me, considering she avoids this place like she'll contract the plague."

"Oh, believe me, I'm well aware. I've been trying to get her to come in for the past two nights." Rachel glowered at her niece, but Sloane just smiled happily. "C'mon, let's go sit down."

The two sat underneath an ominous flickering fluorescent bulb, but Rachel didn't seem to care where in particular they sat. She just wanted to be in and out. Sloane could see Rachel's hands shaking, so Sloane reached forward and grabbed a magazine that was sitting on a table and offered it. Rachel took it gratefully.

Being in a hospital left Sloane with an uncomfortable sinking feeling in her chest. The last time she had been in one, it was after a call from the cops had come, when she was with her Grandma Susan. She remembered happily singing to Elvis Presley as their dinner cooked in a skillet on the stove, and they were dancing around as they picked up spices and seasoning. Sloane remembered the exact moment when the phone had rang and her grandmother had picked it up, the smile on her face from the comedic singing dropping immediately. The house phone had crashed to the ground, the battery falling out of the back the second the device hit the tile floors. Sloane had stared at it for a moment in shock before she registered that something was wrong.

"What?" Sloane had asked, her own smile dropping. "What happened, Grandma? What's going on?"

She hadn't ever gotten a proper answer. There had just been loud proclamation of how they needed to drive to the hospital. They needed to get there quickly. And suddenly, Sloane was racing to get her shoes on and Susan was dialing Sloane's other grandma over and over. Sloane felt like she was having an out of body experience as she stared outside of her window on the way to the hospital. "It'll be okay, Fran," Susan was saying slowly, and Sloane could hear her maternal grandmother's sobs over the phone. "It'll be okay, Fran." But Sloane knew it was a lie. She could hear it in her grandmother's voice. Nothing was okay. There was an odd sinking feeling in her chest and a emptiness in her heart that she'd never experienced before.

Susan and Fran had tried to protest when the cops asked if Sloane would identify the bodies. They didn't think it was appropriate for a young girl. But while her grandmothers argued with the cops, Sloane had walked away from them. They didn't notice as she walked to the morgue, her feet scuffing against the floor and her heart pounding in her chest. Like slow motion, her pace slowed down to nearly a crawl when she finally made it to the window that let her view inside the morgue. She stared through the window, seeing with unblinking eyes the burnt bodies of her mother and father. Or, what was left of them, anyway. With a disgusting feeling in her stomach she realized that even if she'd been asked to identify the bodies, she wasn't sue she could. It made her want to cry, that realization. That she didn't even recognize her own mother and father.

"Sloane, baby," Susan had begged, pulling her away from the window and into a hug so strong that Sloane had no chance of breaking free. "I don't want you seeing that. You shouldn't have to see that."

Sloane remembered thinking she didn't have a choice anymore. The image of her mother and father, so distorted, would burn in her brain forever, whether she wanted it to or not. She would see it every single time she closed her eyes. It wasn't a memory that would just dissipate. It was a memory she would see in her nightmares and it was a memory she'd see when people asked her about her parents and where they were and it was a memory she'd see whenever she was feeling alone and missing them more than ever.

"Rachel Fischer?" A nurse interrupted Sloane's thoughts, a pretty dark-skinned woman with a big smile on her face. She supposed the grin was to offer comfort to patients. "I'm Julie, nice to meet you. If you could follow me, we'll take your blood pressure and weight."

Sloane gave Rachel a wave and a comforting thumbs-up when her aunt started following behind Julie. Once her aunt was out of sight, Sloane picked up the discarded magazine next to her, her eyes scanning the words on the page for some piece of interesting news she could latch onto to distract herself. After minutes of reading the same line over and over again, Sloane gave up and decided to venture around the hospital, hoping to find some semblance of a cafeteria in the vast whiteness of the walls and dizzying tile pattern. When she reached her desired destination, she scrounged around in her pockets and purse for some cash, walking to a vending machine to grab a bag of chips and a soda. She munched on the chips as she sat, her eyes moving over the people in the hospital.

She and her father had loved to people-watch. It was one of their favorite activities. Sloane remembered sitting in restaurants with her dad, laughing about the man who was on the phone with someone he didn't seem to want to be on the phone with, or the woman with the screaming baby that wasn't paying attention to her child at all. If he were there with her at that moment, he'd be commenting on the nurse who was so tired that his hand was nearly in his food or the loud woman on her phone that was talking just above the polite volume.

There was nothing more that she wanted than for her father to be sitting there with her. As it had so many times before, her fingers found their way to the ring hanging around her neck.

Her eyes caught a familiar frame walking through the cafeteria doors, his tiny, bouncing sister standing next to him with a spring in her step as they walked through the hospital. His eyes caught Sloane's easily and he sent her a wave, but kept his distance, as he had been the entire week. Alice, however, shared different sentiments. She bounded over to where Sloane was sitting, immediately pulling out a chair and gracefully sliding her body into it. Emmett, who had no choice but to follow his sister, sat next to her with a wary look on his face. Sloane tried not to laugh at Emmett's obvious discomfort. She couldn't tell if it was from the situation or from the fact that he was entirely too big for the chair he was sitting in.

"Sloane Saunders," Alice said with an air of certainty, like she was sure she wouldn't get Sloane's name wrong. Even Sloane knew it was highly doubtful, since she was the talk of the town due to her new girl status. "We haven't officially met. I'm Alice," she said with a big smile, her teeth so blinding white that Sloane blinked in surprise.

"Hi Alice," Sloane replied, smiling back softly. "It's nice to meet you. Officially."

"What brings you here?" Alice asked, gesturing to the hospital around her. "Most kids our age don't sit around in a hospital without a reason."

Sloane wondered if Alice had meant to put the slight emphasis on the word "our," like she was trying to convey that they were, in fact, the same age. Why wouldn't they have been the same age? They were in the same grade, weren't they? Still, to not be rude, Sloane nodded. "My aunt's had a cold and a fever the past couple of nights, and she's refused to go to the hospital because she's afraid of getting a shot. She plucked up the courage today when she realized her fever wasn't going anywhere." Alice let out a peal of polite laughter and Sloane wondered if the girl knew how bell-like it sounded. "What about you two?"

Emmett seemed to take the reigns for this question, on account of Alice still excitedly grinning. "Our father works here. We drove him here last night, and his shift ends in a few minutes, so we're picking him up." Sloane realized it was the most she'd ever heard Emmett speak. His voice was loud and booming, but there was the same ring to it that Alice's had. Sloane tried to come up with a comparison for it, but the only thing that came close to describing it was the clear sound of a metal utensil against a glass cup. Captivating and elegant. She didn't think she could use the word elegant to describe someone like Emmett Cullen, but it fit.

"That's nice of you two," she said honestly. She hadn't been smart enough to take advantage of giving her parents rides. Now that they were gone, she'd give anything to be back in Emmett and Alice's position. "I'm sure he appreciates it."

"He does," another clear, crystallized voice said from behind her, and all three teenager's heads whipped up to face the source of the voice. She assumed this was Doctor Cullen, the man who had adopted his three children and taken in two more when they were without a home. He was absolutely gorgeous, just like the rest of his family, with strikingly blonde hair the same set of topaz eyes that Sloane realized all his children had. His skin was the same kind of pale smooth she had grown used to see on the Cullens, seemingly made only whiter by the color of the lab coast in his hands. He gave Sloane a dazzling smile when her eyes met his. "I'm Carlisle Cullen. You must be Sloane Saunders, correct?"

"Yes, sir," she replied politely.

"Oh, just Carlisle will be fine," he retorted, waving her off. "I'm off the clock. The other doctor is treating Rachel right now. Your aunt is a stubborn woman," he mentioned. Sloane nodded her agreement. "I see you've met some of my children."

"Yes." Sloane sent a smile to Emmett and Alice. "They've both been very nice to the new girl."

"That's good to hear," Carlisle said with a good-natured chuckle. "Nice to know I haven't raised a couple of heathens."

"I don't know," Emmett said thoughtfully as he stood from the chair, seemingly happy to be up and standing once more. "We could throw destructive parties and vandalize school property in our spare time, and you just don't hear about it." Alice laughed at her brother's sarcasm and stood from her own chair. The difference in height between the three was comical. While the patriarch of the family looked like a giant next to Alice, his eldest son looked even bigger.

"I suppose you could, but I doubt it." Carlisle replied back, and Sloane recognized this as their parting lines. They were already starting to walk away, but not before they all three turned back. "It was nice meeting you, Sloane. I hope my kids continue to not give you too much trouble." Sloane waved in response and watched as they all floated away, an indescribable amount of grace in their steps. Before they could fully disappear from her view, however, Alice turned back as gracefully as a swan and gave Sloane a smile bright enough to light up the entire room.

"I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot of each other. We'll see you around, Sloane."

Her words had some kind of hidden meaning lying underneath the casual nature of them. Sloane nodded her head as Alice returned to facing frontwards once more as the trio strolled out of the cafeteria of the hospital as beautifully as snowflakes fluttering down from the sky. Each one individual, but all three the same in their differences. All seven of them, she corrected in her head. Though she had yet to meet the pseudo-mother Esme Cullen — she thought that's what her name was; it's what Angela had called her — Sloane knew the matriarch would be the same. Individuality in similarity.

In her newfound solidarity, Sloane tapped her fingers on the table. The fluorescent lights were giving her a headache, but it wasn't just that. It was the atmosphere of the hospital as a whole. Sloane had never had problems being in a hospital, but now they were just a painful reminder that everything was gone. On a materialistic level, she supposed she could be upset about the stuff in her home that had burned. The priceless quilt her grandma Susan had made for her, or an old prom dress she had spent hundreds of dollars on because she had saved up all her birthday and Christmas money to look great when she was asked as a freshman. She could choose to be upset that the wiring in her television had caught fire and fried the device as a whole.

She could be.

But she wasn't upset about those things.

She was upset about the house that contained all her memories was gone. She was upset that the ticks on the wall of the hallway closet depicting how she'd grown over the years were gone. She was upset that thousands of pictures, of memories captures on a camera, were nothing more than ash. And she was absolutely heartbroken that the two people who had made those memories with her, the two people she loved most in the world, the two people who knew her better than anyone... were just gone.

Death was funny in that way. One day everything was fine and you were playing a family game of Twister and eating corn dogs made in an oven and the next day the only thing you had to remember of that day was a pile of soot that used to be a home and everything you knew was gone.

"Sloane?" she heard from her left side. Rachel was out of her room and Sloane had wondered how much time she had wasted, sitting at that table in the cafeteria doing nothing but think. "I'm good to go. Cecily's mad at me, but she said I can take antibiotics they prescribed and the fever should break on its own. Just seems to be a normal cold, noting abnormal."

Sloane was glad that Rachel seemed to be doing okay. "No shots, then?" she asked, giving her aunt an innocent smile when Rachel turned to glare at her. "Alright, sorry, just had to ask. Let's get you home, then. I'll pick up the prescription for you later." Sloane helped Rachel out to the car and immediately turned up the heat the second they were under the cover of Sloane's new Camry. "Maybe if you ask nicely, Uncle Brandon will make some soup tonight."

Rachel gave her a humorous look. "Oh, Sloane. You're so sweet. Your uncle is making me soup whether or not I ask nicely." As if to prove her point, Rachel whipped out her phone and started texting Brandon, probably already making him a list of ingredients he would need to get at the grocery store. When Rachel put her phone away, Sloane managed a laugh.

"You're a terrifying woman, Aunt Rachel. He'll be shaking in his boots."

"If he knows what's good for him, he will be."

* * *

When Sloane arrived at school the following Monday after spending the rest of the weekend nursing her aunt back to health, her eyes couldn't help but seek out their target, locking on the smallest of the bunch when she identified the five children standing near the silver Volvo they drove to school. Alice was chatting to Rosalie and was staring down at her shoes, so Sloane assumed Alice was giving her adoptive sister a compliment. They all seemed to be in better spirits, Emmett cackling so hard that it made him throw his head back in laughter at something Edward had said. Even Jasper, who was always so cool and mysterious in class, seemed to be in a good mood, if the small smile on his face was anything to go by.

They all seemed so normal. She'd heard the things Jessica and Lauren said about them when they thought Sloane wasn't paying attention. Hell, she'd heard the things they said when they _knew_ she was paying attention. Even Mike talked about them like they were the scum of the Earth. The only one Sloane could remember ever not speaking badly of the family was Angela, and that was only because Sloane thought it was actually impossible for Angela to be anything but sweet. As she stared at them in that moment, however, huddled together like a solitary family unit, they looked like they were five kids who had been adopted out of bad situations and were absolutely happy to be a part of a family.

Sloane knew the importance of family.

The ground was slippery when she stepped out of her car, her feet barely scuffing against the layer of pure ice before she caught onto the fact that she was about to fall and quickly grabbed the top of her car to keep herself from tumbling over. If there was one thing about Forks that was taking some getting used to, it was the weather. Sloane wasn't used to icy roads and her breath coming out of her mouth in a cloud of condensation. Luckily, Tyler seemed to remember this fact, for he made his way over to her and held out his arm with a chuckle.

"Does the lady need help to the building?" he asked. Sloane rolled her eyes, but she wasn't stupid enough to refuse his help. She knew that without someone holding her up, she'd tip over and fall. She didn't consider herself a clumsy person, but maybe that was because in Texas it was never dangerous weather. _Well_ , Sloane thought, _that wasn't entirely true_. It sometimes got too hot to do anything but sit in front of an air conditioning unit, but that was only during July most of the time. Forks's dangerous weather was year-round.

"It would be appreciated," she replied, linking her arm through Tyler's as he helped her shuffle along to the entrance of her first class. She noticed the glare Lauren sent her way almost immediately, but Sloane didn't care. Lauren had an ego that couldn't be dented for long, and Sloane knew that at one mention of how she liked Lauren's outfit or how Tyler had mentioned how Lauren's hair looked nicer with the recent trim she got, she knew the girl currently glaring at her would be absolutely fine. "Thanks, Tyler," she mentioned when they arrived at their destination.

Sloane didn't need any other help throughout the rest of the day in terms of walking from class to class. Most of the ice had dissipated during her first four periods so that by the time lunch came around, Sloane had no worries about walking back to her car when her school day ended. She had been right to assume that Lauren would turn her attitude around when Sloane sent her a compliment, since Lauren immediately launched into a tale of where she had gotten her shoes while smiling encouragingly at Sloane and telling her to go buy some. It wasn't until Angela sat down, however, that the conversation took a turn for the weird.

"My aunt Cecily said that you were at the hospital this weekend," Angela mentioned as she plopped down next to Sloane at their designated lunch table. "What happened? Are you alright?"

"Oh," Sloane said, blinking in surprise. She supposed she shouldn't have been. It was Forks, after all, so obviously Cecily was related to at least one person Sloane knew. "Yeah, I'm fine. Aunt Rachel had a fever so we took her there to try and get some antibiotics prescribed. I actually talked to Alice and Emmett for a while. They were there picking up their dad."

Those seemed to be the magic words. Suddenly, every single person at the table was looking at her like she'd suddenly sprouted ten heads. Mike couldn't even find the decency to shut his gaping mouth. The only people who weren't looking at her like she was a foreign object was Angela, who happily sipped on her orange juice, and Ben, who continued to eat his sandwich in silence. Sloane felt uncomfortable under all their looks, shifting slightly in her seat. She didn't know what she had said.

"You..." Lauren trailed off in surprise, eyes comically wide. "You talked to Alice and Emmett? No one talks to the Cullens."

"They were picking up their dad," Sloane repeated in a small voice, as if that retort was the answer to all their questioning gazes. "It's not really that big a deal, guys. We happened to be in the hospital cafeteria at the same time, they sat down and said hi, and then their dad got off work and they left." By the looks on her friends faces, even a greeting from the Cullens was rare. When Sloane had asked Angela the previous week why there was such a stigma around them, she simply replied that the Cullens were an enigma. Everyone had tried to figure them out, uncover all their mysterious secrets, but there had been no such luck in the two years the Cullens had been in Forks.

"Not really a big deal," Tyler repeated her words. "That's the most any of us have ever talked to them. You think their appeal would have worn off by now, but..." The unspoken words were there. Forks kids were drawn by mystery, and there was no family more mysterious than the Cullens.

When lunch ended, Sloane made her way to the small gymnasium. Since it was still the beginnings weeks of class, they were simply sitting on the bleachers while Coach Clapp discussed the process of the locker rooms and that no one of the other gender was to enter the girls' and boys' locker rooms. She had that class with the youngest Cullen, but Alice seemed to pay Sloane no mind when she sat down in the only empty bleacher behind her. Alice didn't try to make conversation, but she sent Sloane a smile of acknowledgement as she gracefully lowered herself to the bleacher. In the meantime, Sloane's mind wandered. Why did the kids at Forks High seem to hate the Cullens so much? Alice seemed nice enough. Whenever Emmett did speak, he was always polite. Jasper hadn't spoken to she or Ben at all in their government class, but maybe he just didn't like talking to new people. Sloane didn't think that warranted the hate they received. To her, they were just a family that liked to stick together.

The first lesson she ever really remember her father instilling in her brain as a child was to not treat people with disrespect. "Respect is earned, Sloane," he would tell her as they sat in her room, looking up at the plastic stars she had stuck to her ceiling. Those were some of her favorite times with her father, when they were just sitting there and talking. She loved talking to her parents. To her, they were the coolest people in the world. "You've gotta give respect to get it back. Does that make sense?" When she nodded, he continued on, reaching over to poke her nose. "You've gotta treat people nicely. When you do, people will love being around you. You want people to want to be your friends, right?"

"That's why people like you so much," she would reply, and he would chuckle. Sloane had noticed that her father was never unkind to anyone. He always radiated the sort of kindness Sloane strove to achieve. "That's what Mom says."

"Exactly. And you want people to like you. But it's not just about that. Imagine if someone was having a bad day and you were mean to them. Do you think you would make their day better?" Sloane shook her head. "That's why you've got to be nice to everyone. Because you never know what they're going through."

Sloane truly believed it. She didn't know how things would have turned out at Forks High if she hadn't met genuinely nice people, like Ben and Angela. She didn't know if she could handle uprooting her life because of her loss and then coming to a place where everyone seemed to hate her. That's why she got so defensive when Lauren and Jessica and Mike talked badly about the Cullens. Because it just reminded her of a basic rule her father had made for her, and they were unknowingly breaking it.

Like it had every time she thought of her parents, her hand lifted subconsciously to her shirt, fingers brushing over the ring chained around her neck. It brought some comfort, but mostly nostalgia. In those moments, when everything was quiet and she was alone with her thoughts, the wedding ring her mother had worn for all of Sloane's life just reminded her of what had happened.

Alice said nothing throughout the rest of the period, but she gave Sloane another blinding white smile when Sloane gathered her things a few minutes before the bell rang. Then, just when Sloane was sitting and waiting for the bell to ring, Alice tapped her on the shoulder politely. "Good afternoon, Sloane. How was the rest of your weekend? Is your aunt feeling better?"

Sloane blinked in surprise. "Er, my weekend was good, thanks for asking. And Rachel's doing a lot better now. Her fever broke late last night, so that was a good thing."

"I'm so glad," Alice replied with another kind yet blinding smile. "Are you off to government next?" Sloane nodded. "You have it with Jasper and Emmett, that's right. History is one of Jasper's favorite subjects. Once you get him talking about it, you can't really get him to stop." Sloane had a hard time believing that they were thinking of the same Jasper, considering Sloane hadn't heard him speak more than three times, but Alice knew her brother better than Sloane did. "He's got a bunch of Civil War memorabilia around the house." The bell rang from the loudspeaker over their heads and Alice grinned. "Well, it was great talking to you, Sloane. I'll see you tomorrow."

That was a good sign, Sloane thought to herself. Perfectly normal conversation. Her mind was still trying to wrap around the stigma around the Cullens when she walked into her government class. Ben was waiting for her in their desk when she entered the room, and he sent her a smile when she walked over to him. She noticed the two Cullen brothers in their normal seats and sent the two of them a bright smile before sliding into the hard plastic chair.

"She mentioned something about a group project coming up," Ben said once Sloane was situated in her seat. "I don't think we have to start it until the second week of September, but she said she wanted us to pick our groups today."

Sloane nodded, filtering the information through her brain. "How many people does she want in a group?" Group projects weren't Sloane's cup of tea at all, considering back in Texas she'd been the one that had to do a majority of the work, but she certainly wasn't going to complain. She couldn't imagine Ben slacking off on any of his work, which already made the idea of a group project thirty times better.

"I think she mentioned three or four," he replied, shrugging his shoulders. "But they aren't going to be assigned groups like most teachers do, so that'll be nice. We can pick who we want to be in our group." Sloane immediately relaxed when he solidified that they would be in a group together. She wasn't sure she wanted to work with anyone else. When the class actually started, Sloane realized Mrs. Lovejoy was just reiterating what Ben had already told her. Guidelines for the project were passed out and Sloane read over it carefully.

"So," Ben said suddenly, turning around to face the two Cullen brothers. Sloane followed his lead, giving a smile to the two. "Do you guys mind if we're in a group together? It'll just be easier since we're already pretty much grouped in the corner here."

"Sounds fine with me," Emmett replied happily as Jasper silently nodded his agreement. Sloane didn't mind the silence from the blonde. She had gotten used to it over the week that she had been at school, and she always tried to send him a comforting smile when she could. "What are the discussion topics we can choose from?" Emmett added, looking over the sheet with the guidelines listed. Sloane's own eyes fell to the paper. It was categorized by the political groups in accordance to major historical events. George Washington and the American Revolution, Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War, Woodrow Wilson and World War I. Sloane felt her eyes drawn to Abraham Lincoln, noting that Alice had mentioned Jasper collected Civil War memorabilia around their house.

"What are you thinking, Sloane?" Ben asked after a few moments of looking over the topics.

"I was thinking either Lincoln for the Civil War or Bush for 9/11," Sloane replied, shrugging her shoulders in an act of nonchalance. "They'd probably be the easiest to find information on considering 9/11 is the most recent and the Civil War had several pieces of literature written at the time that we could draw from. Walt Whitman's works in particular." Both Ben and Emmett shot her surprised looks while Jasper simply looked up from his guideline sheet and stared at her. Sloane tried not to squirm. "Er... if no one else wants to do those then we can pick something else. They were just suggestions."

Before anyone could reply, Jasper shook his head. "The Civil War's fine. You're right about—" he took a deep breath and grimaced as if the act pained him "— the pieces of literature written at the time."

Sloane stared at him in wonder. It was the longest sentence she'd ever heard him speak, and she once again took note of the undercurrent of a Southern accent staining his speech. She couldn't place what part of the south he was from, but it sounded slightly like how her father's best friend used to sound and she wondered if he was from Texas. His gaze had long since diverted back to his guidelines, but he peeked up at her from underneath his lashes and Sloane felt something inside her stomach pull. "Right," she said, suddenly breathless. "Is Lincoln alright with you two?" she asked, leaning back in her seat to put some distance between herself and Jasper. She saw a ghost of a smirk on Emmett's lips as he nodded and Ben enthusiastically wrote down the assignment in his little black planner.

"When would you guys like to get together?" Ben asked, breaking up some of the tension Sloane was feeling in her gut. "We could have a set day and meet at the library or something? I would offer my house but we've only got one computer and it was made sometime around when dinosaurs roamed the Earth." Sloane let out a slight chuckle.

If she were back in Texas, she would have no problem offering her house. Each member of the Saunders family owned a laptop so there would be three they could have used. Amy Saunders would probably make snacks and Sloane would try her hardest not to be embarrassed before Garrett would rush in and embarrass her even more. Then, when the people in her group would leave, she'd complain to her parents for the rest of the night and they'd laugh off her scolds. Sloane felt her fingers raise to the ring around her neck and grip it tightly as the onslaught of emotions coursed through her, just like they did every single time she thought about her parents. She felt herself take a deep breath as Ben discussed with Emmett something about meeting at the local library Tuesday and Friday after school, but she wasn't listening.

She felt his eyes on her before she even looked at him. Jasper was staring at her with a sort of confusion in his eyes, as if he could sense what she was truly feeling underneath the smile she had plastered on her face the entire week she had been at Forks High. He was staring at her as if he could see into her soul.

He was staring at her like he understood.

She was the first one to break the stare again, listening to the bell ring shallowly in her ears as if she were trying to hear from underwater. Jasper was up and out of the classroom before she could blink, but she was used to that kind of behavior. He was always leaving before she could say anything. His brother, on the other hand, always took his time and made sure to say goodbye before he was following his brother's trail out the door and to the parking lot. She barely nodded in acknowledgement when Emmett gave her his farewell, mind still reeling over the weird sinking feeling in her chest that let her know Jasper Hale knew exactly what she was feeling.

Her phone buzzed when she got to her car, signaling an escape from the thoughts plaguing her head. She welcomed the distraction with open arms, accepting the call and bringing the phone up to her ear. "Hey Aunt Rachel," she answered, making sure she had a smile on her face even if her aunt couldn't see her. "What's up?"

" _Your grandmother is insane, that's what's up_." Sloane tried not to chuckle.

"Something tells me you aren't talking about Grandma Susan."

" _God no. That's a sensible woman. I'm talking about my frantic mother who is demanding to hear your voice by eleven tonight or else she's hopping on a plane and flying over here to make sure I haven't killed you. I swear, you tell the woman you don't want kids until you're thirty-five and suddenly you're incapable of taking care of them. She thinks I'm not feeding you_." Sloane heard Rachel sigh heavily. " _Why did I get stuck with this woman as my mother? I've been a somewhat decent person. What is this karma for?_ "

Sloane couldn't contain her laughter this time, but there was a kind of forced aspect to it because mothers were a hard topic as of late. "Don't worry, don't worry. I'll call her later and make sure to let her know that you're a wonderful guardian. You even make sure I'm fed three meals a day."

" _Damn straight I do_ ," Rachel responded, angrily huffing. " _God, Amy and I used to hate dealing with her. Everything had to be done her way or no way. Amy would always tell me that she was going to take me away to wherever I wanted to go. The Bahamas were a topic for a while, but then I decided that wasn't far enough away. No, I wanted to shoot big. We were getting as far east as Germany._ "

"Germany, huh?" Sloane asked with a tightness in her throat.

" _Your mom always wanted to go_ ," Rachel said, and this time her voice was softer, no longer angry. " _I didn't mean to unload this all on you right now, kid, I promise. I just..._ " Sloane listened to her aunt breathe on the other end of the phone call and could have sworn she heard a sniffle. When Rachel spoke again, her voice was muffled. " _I just really miss her, kid. She was one hell of a woman, that was for sure. The greatest sister ever._ "

Sloane knew this. She had only known Amy Saunders as a mother, but she had heard enough stories from her aunt to know what it was truly like to be Amy Saunders's sibling. She had heard about the late nights in the tree house their father had made for them, she had heard about the night they ate an entire gallon of ice cream and had stomachaches for three days, and she had heard about Amy's senior year prom incident when Rachel threw a fit because she was in seventh grade and couldn't go.

Sloane had also seen her aunt through a cracked bedroom door the first night Sloane had spent the night in Forks.

She had always known her aunt was a strong woman. She didn't like people to see her cry. But Sloane had that night. Brandon was somewhere for work and Sloane was supposed to be asleep, so Rachel had curled up on her bed with some unknown pink fabric Sloane couldn't see the shape of. And she had cried, more than Sloane had ever seen her. The next morning, Sloane found her mother's old pink hoodie in the wash, waiting to be cleansed of the black mascara smudges on one of the sleeves.

Sloane wanted to cry now.

"Aunt Rachel?" she said softly.

" _Yeah?_ " Rachel sniffled.

"We'll go to Germany one day. Maybe the summer going into my freshman year of college. People always do fun things before their freshman year of college. We'll go to Germany and we'll see Amsterdam. And then we'll take a train and go to Paris, or London. We'll make a European adventure out of it."

She could imagine her aunt smiling on the other side of the line. " _That sounds like the greatest plan in the world, kid. The summer going into my freshman year I got raging drunk and vomited on my mother's car, so I definitely like your idea better._ " It was silent for a few moments. " _You on your way home?_ "

"I'm on my way now. I'll see you in a few. Love you, Aunt Rachel."

" _Love you too, kid_."

Ending the phone call, Sloane threw her phone on the passenger seat but made no move to start her car. She just sat there in silence for a few moments, willing herself not to feel anything. That was the hard thing about pretending to be okay. Sometimes you were so _not okay_ that it was hard to think clearly. Sloane couldn't bring herself to drive just yet, even if she promised herself she would give her aunt the biggest hug in the world when she finally did arrive home. She just sat there, digesting the phone call and wishing that things were different but knowing they weren't and they would never be again.

Then, like flicking a switch, Sloane looked in the mirror and smiled so widely that her cheeks hurt. She reached into her backpack and reapplied the lip gloss she had thrown on that morning and ruffled her hair to revive some of the volume. She checked her makeup once, twice, three times before she locked the smile in place and put her new car in reverse, backing up out of the parking lot and starting on the drive home.

Edward Cullen kept an eye on his sister, bouncing on her feet as the new girl Sloane Saunders drove away in her car. Alice had been excited about the prospect of a new mystery for months, ever since Sloane had moved to Forks. Whenever Edward tried to read her mind and discover just what it was about Sloane that made Alice so intrigued, she'd start reciting the Spanish alphabet or the notes to a song she knew Edward wasn't particularly fond of. At that moment, watching the new blonde student whirl off into the distance, Edward thought he maybe had a grasp on what Alice had meant when she had said Sloane Saunders was going to be a difficult girl to crack. He just didn't know why it was important.

"Her parents passed nearly five months ago," Alice explained, making sense of the phone call shared between Sloane and her aunt that the five Cullen siblings had overheard. "Don't worry," Alice assured, "she's going to be okay. I've seen it." With her words came a comforting hand that she rested on Jasper's shoulder, who had been on edge ever since his class with Sloane.

"You could have warned me," Jasper mentioned in an angry offhanded tone. For once, he wasn't talking about the thirst that continuously consumed his mind. Rather, he was discussing the sudden wave of serious sadness Sloane had sent his way in their seventh period government class. Edward knew from experience that whenever Jasper felt enough of an emotion from a human, he began to feel that particular way himself. Edward had heard the sadness in his adoptive brother's thoughts as he had made his way to the Volvo. "Next time, do so," Jasper said, staring pointedly at Alice. Edward knew, however, that Jasper's words were also directed towards him.

"Sorry," Alice replied absentmindedly. "But you did great today Jasper. It's getting easier for you, isn't it?" Alice always worried about his thirst.

"It's getting easier." Jasper didn't even try to hide the fact that he was lying through his teeth. "Let's just get home."

Edward didn't protest.

* * *

 **A little more insight into the Cullens and their reactions to the new girl. I really hope you guys liked this chapter and learning a little bit more about Rachel and Sloane's relationship with her. Confession time: Rachel and Brandon might be two of my favorite characters. I love them so much. Would you guys want to see what I picture Rachel and Brandon looking like, or would you rather them be ambiguous so you can picture them how you want? Let me know!**


	4. Three

**Hi guys! I'm back again with another Saudade chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed the last one and enjoy this one. I'm going to start answering reviews at the end of each chapter, so if you reviewed and want to see a response, stay tuned for the end of the chapter. With that being said, I hope you guys like!**

* * *

"Grandma, I'm fine," Sloane repeated for the eleventh time since getting in her car. She was supposed to have met Emmett, Ben, and Jasper at the tiny library of Forks High three minutes ago, but the consistency in which her grandmother was talking let Sloane know it would be at least another five before she could get out of her car. Francine O'Reilly was known for long and drawn out speeches. When Sloane had been younger, her mother would mouth the words Francine would say on the phone and Sloane would try to hold in her laughter. Now that she was the one on the phone with her grandmother, it was less funny to try and guess the words Francine would say.

" _I feel like you're just saying that_ ," Francine replied as Sloane debated hitting her head on the steering wheel of her car. So far, her grandmother had claimed she didn't think Rachel was feeding her enough (which Sloane had reassured her for the past two nights that Rachel had been), that Sloane was freezing to death in Washington ("I've got lots of jackets, Grandma, I promise"), and that Sloane was going to magically forget she was allergic to peaches and accidentally have some (to which Sloane replied that she always kept an Epipen near in case of emergencies). " _You know that if you want to come live with me, you're always welcome to, honey_."

It was the fourth time her grandmother had suggested this. It was the fourth time that Sloane had to refrain from shouting "hell no" into the phone before throwing it in a bucket of water so her grandmother could never bother her again.

Sloane rolled her eyes. "Grandma, I'm really liking Forks." She heard her grandmother inhale to launch into another speech and Sloane quickly interrupted. "Grandma, I actually have to go. I'm working on a group project with a couple of friends for my government class." She hoped the three boys wouldn't judge her too harshly for being late. Sloane liked to believe that if they knew what her grandmother was like, they'd understand. Unlike her father's mother, Francine worried unnecessarily and treated Sloane like she was a kindergartner that couldn't possibly be self-sufficient. In her eyes, Sloane would always be five-years-old. "So, goodbye, I love you, and I'll come visit you soon. Maybe over winter break?" Sloane didn't have any intention of seeing those plans through.

" _Oh, alright sweetie. I love you and I'll see you soon. And tell my daughter that when her cell phone rings once before going straight to voicemail, I know that it means she's ignoring my calls. See you soon, Sloane_!"

Sloane listened to the line disconnect and sympathized with her aunt. Among many things she was beginning to understand about Aunt Rachel, why she didn't speak to her mother much was definitely one of them.

Sloane snapped her phone shut with a heavy sigh before she slid her arms into her heavy rain jacket and stepped out of her car. It wasn't raining too badly today, which was an improvement to the thunderstorms they had gotten the past three days, but Sloane didn't dare test her luck just standing out in the open. She swiftly made her way to the Forks High Library which was luckily open on Saturdays as it operated as the general library in town as well. When she walked inside, she sent the librarian a grateful smile before she easily found Ben sitting with the two Cullen brothers in a small section of the library. Ben turned around to smile at her and she was quick to give him an apologetic smile in return.

"Sorry I'm so late," she said, letting out a sigh as she dropped her bag on the ground and rubbed her hand against her temples. "I was having a conversation with my grandmother. She could talk someone to death, literally." Sloane was quick to seat herself in the chair right across from Jasper, who stiffened when the air around her jostled with her quick movements. Flipping her hair over her shoulder, she sighed. "Alright. What are we working on first?" She tried not to appear too flustered from her conversation with her grandmother, but she wasn't sure if she succeeded.

This was where Emmett came in. He pulled out a laptop that looked far superior to the one Sloane had in her bag and looked at the rubric for the project. "Time period. We need to set up what was happening at the time. Economics, both macro and micro, international affairs, et cetera. I found a little bit of information about domestic policies in America at the time, but it'll be hard to split up the Southern and Northern aspects of the era. My idea was that maybe two of us could work on Northern and the other two could work on Southern." Sloane nodded. The idea was a good one, especially since it would be easy to find information on both the seceded states and the Northern states. "Jasper and I could do the Southern, if that's alright with you."

Before Sloane could nod her agreement, Ben interrupted. "Actually, shouldn't the two Texans do the Southern?" He turned to Jasper. "You did say you and Rosalie were born in Texas, right? It's perfect! We'll get an A on the project for sure."

Sloane didn't catch the look that Emmett sent his adoptive brother. He tried to gauge Jasper's reaction, measure whether or not he was comfortable with the new arrangement. Truth be told, he and Jasper could whip out this project a lot faster if it was just the two of them doing the work, but they had to play the part of the students. Underneath his breath, much too low for the two humans to hear, Emmett asked his brother. " _Is that alright, Jasper?_ "

Jasper sent his brother a quick nod. "That's fine," he said quietly, to both his brother and the two humans sitting across from him. He watched the blonde human—Sloane Saunders, as Alice always reminded him—look surprised at his accent and then at his agreement. She always looked surprised whenever he spoke, like she forgot that he had working vocal chords and then forgot that he still had some of his Southern twang. He took the moment to study her once more, taking a good look at her features as she looked towards Ben Cheney for the rest of the instructions on the project. She was beautiful, that he could admit. She had long blonde hair with bangs that were long enough to almost cover her big brown eyes. If things were different and he were the same human he had used to be, he might have tried his hand at flirting.

But things weren't different, and he could kill her in the blink of an eye.

"Great!" Ben replied energetically and Sloane fought a smile at his positivity. Around him, it was easy to pretend that the only things she had to worry about were this project and the rest of her classes. "So we can get together sometime next week. Emmett and I will research the North and Sloane and Jasper will have the South covered." With the parts assigned, Ben got up from the table and went to go find books in the library about the United States during the time of the Civil War. Sloane wasn't too worried about a lack of research, considering she could always ring up her non-hovering grandmother and ask. Texas had about a million and two recounts of individual battles from the war, and her distant cousins lived in Antietam and could tell her about the battle there.

What Sloane was mostly worried about was working with Jasper Hale.

He still stared at her with that deep, unreadable emotion in his eyes. It unnerved her. It was like he was stripping away all of the layers she had coated herself with during the move and the four months she'd been in Forks and was seeing the same scared little girl who had seen the remains of her parents' bodies. The same girl who had watched the phone fall from her grandmother's fingertips and known in her heart that something was wrong. Sloane shifted in her seat, uncomfortable, and stood. After giving a halfhearted excuse on wanting to find books about the subject, she sauntered off in the direction of the Non-Fiction works and thumbed through the books on the shelf, trying to find one that looked the biggest. Unfortunately, it was too high up for her to reach. She tried to stand on her toes to grab the book, but her fingers fell short. Suddenly, a hand reached from somewhere above her and plucked the book off the shelf.

Sloane sent a small smile to Emmett. "Thanks. Cons of being short, I suppose." Once Sloane had lowered herself back to the ground from her toes, she sent Emmett a look. "Can I ask you something?" Emmett nodded. "Is Jasper seriously okay with working with me on this project? I don't want to make him uncomfortable." And she hadn't missed the small look Jasper had sent his brother, as if it was a cry for help.

Emmett leaned against the bookshelf and Sloane could have sworn she heard it groan in response, but Emmett didn't seem perturbed. "Jasper's just not a big people person. Don't take it personally. For the sake of the project, anyway, Ben's right. The two of you could whip something out no problem. Though, I resent that he doesn't think I'm from the South."

"You are?" Sloane's eyebrows raised, high enough to be comical to Emmett because he chuckled. She then decided it was rude to assume, and quickly contorted her face so that she didn't look so surprised. "Whereabouts?"

"Gatlinburg, Tennessee," he replied. Sloane nodded. She had been to Tennessee only once, and it was to Nashville. She and her mother stayed in the hotel room mostly, considering it was a work trip for Garrett Saunders that he managed to convince his boss could be a family trip for Amy and Sloane. The two girls had stayed in the hotel room and racked up the room service bill before taking a tour of the Grand Ole Opry. Sloane remembered that it had been one of her favorite trips, but not because of the place they were in. It was the most fun she'd ever had with her mother, and when her father had come home, they had sat out at a nice dinner and had just spent time together as a family.

It was amazing how much someone could take for granted and then mourn when those moments were gone.

"I've only been to Nashville," she said after a few moments. Emmett had recognized the faraway look on her face, the one that Jasper had described happened more than not when her emotions fluctuated. Now that he knew it was because her parents had passed away, he felt like he understood her a little better. And though Alice and Edward thought he suspected nothing, he knew that Alice had been having visions of the tiny blonde human in front of him. That made her important, for some unknown reason. Emmett made it his mission to find out why Sloane Saunders was someone significant enough for Alice to be keeping an eye on. "Beautiful state. At what age were you adopted?" she asked curiously, but there was no malicious tone to her words. Simply curiosity, unlike some of the people in the small town. That wasto be expected, however. Small towns were always the same. Emmett should know. He'd lived in nearly thirteen of them.

Though Emmett had to alter the age in which he was taken in by Carlisle and Esme, he didn't have to alter anything else. "Seven. I've always wanted to go back, to see where I came from. I hardly remember it. It would be nice to get that sense of familiarity back." He had visited once, but that was back before he was secure in his diet. He still had slip-ups. And he hadn't wanted to accidentally hurt someone who came from where he did. He had requested immediately that Carlisle get him out of there. Now that he was more in control, he wondered if he could ask to go back soon.

Sloane nodded. "I feel the same way. I moved to Texas from Arkansas when I was four. It would be nice to go back and see where I was born. All my memories are in Texas, though," Sloane said, picking up a book that looked like it was a biography of Abraham Lincoln. She tucked it underneath her arm to check it out later. "Where are the rest of your siblings from?"

Emmett carefully selected his next words. Since Sloane already knew Jasper was from Texas and he and Rosalie were posing as twins, Emmett knew Rosalie would have to be from Texas as well. "Jasper and Rosalie were born in Houston. Edward was born in Chicago, and Alice was moved around from foster home to foster home before Carlisle and Esme permanently adopted her. We never found out where she was truly from." It wasn't without lack of trying. They had researched endlessly, but the change had been so painful and traumatizing for Alice that she didn't remember much from her old life. Without the small snippets of memory, finding out who Alice was and where she came from was difficult.

Sloane listened with a growing sense of sadness. While her parents being gone was more painful than anything she could have imagined, she couldn't even begin to understand how Alice felt. She knew nothing of where she came from, knew nothing of her real parents. "At least she has Esme and Carlisle. They seem wonderful. Rachel and Brandon speak very highly of the both of them." And it was true. After that first day, when Sloane had inquired about the elusive Cullen family, both her guardians had been quick to defend the Cullens. Rachel would often run into Esme Cullen at the grocery store, and promised Sloane that Esme was the nicest woman Rachel had ever met. " _She'd put your grandmother to shame,_ " Rachel would say bitterly, remembering something her mother had done the day before like the vicious cycle of estranged family often did.

"We got lucky in that department, that's for sure," Emmett replied. The two of them walked back to the table. Ben was searching in one of the rows of books for any information on Abraham Lincoln and the North during the Civil War. Jasper was still sitting at the table they had quickly scattered their stuff over, across from where Sloane sat back down. He was clicking away at a laptop as Emmett opened up the book he had found.

Sloane looked around the library, people-watching as well as taking in a general study of the room. When she was younger her mother and father would always take her to the library in their town and let Sloane run wild. There had been guest readers that used to read in the children's department of the library, and Sloane would always sit in the front row and listen aptly. Sloane loved books. She loved listening to them, loved reading them. She loved their sight, their smell, the places they could transport her to. She had wanted to be an author once in her life, during the transition between junior high and high school when she was enrolled in journalism freshman year. Her mother and father would be her mock readers, scanning over her work and applauding her for her creativity. She never actually knew if she was any good at writing; she just knew that her mother and father were her biggest fans.

Her fingers found the ring around her neck. Almost immediately, a kind of calm sweeping feeling enveloped her.

Jasper stared at her. He should have expected the wave of emotion the blonde human—her emotions fluctuated as much as waves on the ocean—but it still caught him by surprise when he felt the density and volume of it. Alice had told him to try and understand where she was coming from. Her parents, the people who brought her into the world, were burned alive. But even Alice's encouragement could never prepare him for the emotions he felt rolling off of Sloane Saunders. They were potent enough to make him uncomfortable, but also strong enough to distract him from the fact that there was blood pumping in her veins. He wasn't sure if the empathic link was a blessing or a curse.

As she looked away, he noticed her fingers toying with the chain around her neck. Jasper assumed it was her mother's wedding ring by the way Sloane was gripping it, like she'd defend it with her life. Jasper felt a small sense of longing. He hadn't remembered details about his parents in a hundred years, and here Sloane was, able to remember hers with the clarity Jasper had never possessed. But maybe it was better the way he had it. The sting wasn't present anymore. He could feel the effect it had on the blonde girl sitting across from him, her face losing the facade she continued to put up for just a split second, like glass cracking and shattering. He saw the easygoing smile, the forced lightness in her eyes, and watched as they dropped for a split second as her fingers ran over the small and modest diamond. He saw her smile quiver, saw her eyes close as she remembered something about her family.

And then she was back to the normal Sloane, smiling and happy as she opened the book in front of her and started to jot down information about the South during the war.

Jasper could probably write the entire section in his sleep. If he could sleep. He could tell Sloane she didn't even have to worry about it, that he would do it all and she could just sign her name. But something told him that this human was a different kind of breed, and that if he even suggested the idea she'd be offended. She seemed like the type to need to prove herself. Prove that she was fine. So he simply continued to type away at his laptop, writing down information from memory of the time period.

"Er, Jasper?" Sloane asked after a few moments. His throat burned as he stared at her. Now that she seemed to have allowed her emotions to subside, he heard the pulse of her heart. He thought of the blood in her body and Emmett shot him a small kick underneath the table when Jasper's fingers curled dangerously around the edge of the table. "I don't know if you're jotting down notes or research, but you can add these if you'd like." Her hand slid tauntingly close as she pushed her sheet of notes over towards him.

He stared at her hand, the blueish veins underneath her skin singing to him. He grappled for something to distract him, and it came in the form of her bright electric blue nails, perfectly polished as if she wouldn't appear to be fine if her nails weren't painted. They were neon and slightly gaudy, but they somehow fit. He cleared his throat, careful to not breathe. "Thank you," he said stiffly, accepting the paper from her. He was careful to not touch her skin as he brought the paper closer to himself. She was staring at him, like she was trying to decode some pattern on his face. He met her stare with his own, willing her to look away.

She jumped when Ben slammed a book down on the table.

"I knew Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, but this book goes into detail about it. Like, major detail. There's recounts from people who were at the theater that night!" Ben was beaming, as if the possibility of including this in their project was something he couldn't pass up. Sloane couldn't stop the small laugh from escaping her mouth as she slid the book over to read the words on the page for herself. "Isn't that awesome?"

* * *

"Lauren said _what_?"

Angela rolled her eyes, as if her blonde friend was the most immature person to walk the Earth. In Sloane's opinion, Lauren pretty much _was_ the most immature person to walk the Earth. Ever since Sloane had arrived to town, Tyler thought that this meant Sloane was destined to be his girlfriend. Sloane was always quick to refuse his thinly veiled attempts at asking her out, but apparently Lauren didn't care that Sloane had no desire to date Tyler. She was currently glowering at Sloane from the other end of the lunch table in the cafeteria. It might have bothered Sloane if she didn't know that Lauren was about as shallow as a sink filled with water. Since she did know this fact, the glare didn't perturb her.

"She said she wasn't going to speak to you for a while. Apparently, you lost her trust when you accepted Tyler's offer for a date. I repeatedly told her that no such acceptance ever happened, but she didn't believe me. If you ask me, she's just grasping for straws here. Let's face it, you're the new girl. The new girl gets attention. Attention on others makes Lauren angry," Angela finished, giving Sloane an apologetic smile.

There was a dance coming up to celebrate the beginning of the school year, and though Sloane wanted nothing more than to not go to said dance, she knew it was part of the image she had to keep up. If she didn't show up, people would be wondering if it was because she was laying in bed and sobbing. Which, if she were honest, sounded a hell of a lot more fun than attending a school dance. Still, she had promised Angela and Jessica (and Lauren, when Lauren hadn't been angry with her) that she would go. Tyler had been asking her all week to go with him, but Sloane much preferred going on her own.

Sloane rolled her eyes, much like Angela had earlier. "Just let her be angry. I have no interest in Tyler Crowley. Or Mike Newton. Or Eric Yorkie. Or any boy here for that matter."

Angela had a mischievous look on her face. "I got not being into Tyler, Mike, or Eric, but are you sure no boy here has caught your eye?" Sloane opened her mouth to speak, but Angela interrupted her before she could get a word out. "And think carefully about your next answer, because I've seen the looks you send Jasper Hale when you think he's not looking."

Sloane's mouth fell open in a surprised expression. She didn't think anyone had noticed the looks she'd been sneaking Jasper ever since their stare-down in the library. She couldn't help it. There was something mysterious about him, something that screamed he was more than meets the eye. Sloane had always been a sucker for solving puzzles, and she had a feeling the Cullens were just that: one giant, human puzzle. When she looked back at Angela, the girl was wiggling her eyebrows. "It's not like that," Sloane said after a moment, a beat too late to be convincing.

"Sure," Angela said, not believing Sloane at all.

"No, really, it isn't." Sloane wondered how she could explain. "I don't know him well enough to like him in that way. Hell, I barely even know him enough to like him in a platonic way. I don't know, he's just interesting. They all are," she mentioned, looking over slightly at the Cullen table. They were all chatting, Edward moving the food on his plate onto Emmett's. Emmett let out a laugh and pushed it away, as if rejecting the food Edward was offering. So normal, but so choreographed. It was too perfect. "As far as I can tell, everyone here knows about my parents, but I get the feeling he just... _knows_. Understands, I guess." Sloane noticed the look Angela was giving her. "I know, I know. Of course he understands, right? He and his sister lost their parents."

"No, I get it," Angela replied, nodding her head. "Look, there was this study that I was reading about for a psychology class once. Kids who lost parents tended to herd together, or at least befriend each other more easily, I suppose. It wasn't the case for all kids, but for a lot of them it was. You feel connected to him because he understands what you're going through. And you feel more connected to he and Rosalie than the others because the others lost their parents before ever really remembering them, you know? And it makes sense that out of the two Hale twins, you're more connected to Jasper. Aside from the fact that you have government with him, Rosalie's a tad frightening." Sloane let out a short laugh. Rosalie was intimidating. Sloane could imagine standing next to her equating to a wrecking ball to one's self-esteem. "But, with that said... you can't deny that you think Jasper Hale is attractive."

Sloane snuck another look at the table. They were all the picture of normal once more. She studied the two girls, equally beautiful in their own way. Rosalie was the conventional beautiful, the kind of beautiful that all girls wanted to be. Alice was a different kind of beautiful, more graceful and dainty. Then, Sloane slid her eyes over to Edward. He was inhumanly gorgeous, every one of them was. His bronze hair was mussed in that effortless way that took hair stylists hours to recreate. Emmett was like some kind of human personification of Ares, striking an demanding attention.

And then there was Jasper.

His honey-colored hair was wavy and fell just slightly past his chin. He had enough muscles to be significantly stronger than she was, and she was sure Jessica and Lauren had spent hours drooling over his physique, but it was his face that drew Sloane to find him the most beautiful of the three Cullen brothers. It wasn't so much the outward appearance as the intelligence that she saw in his eyes. There was pain there also, just another piece to the puzzle she wanted to uncover. There was his nose, angles and a curve at the bottom. There was the small and attractive dimple on his chin, and then there was the perfectly shaped lips. Every part of his face was so beautiful that it might actually physically hurt to look at.

"No," Sloane agreed, turning back to face her friend. She sent Angela a small smile. "No, you're right. I can't deny it."

Angela looked triumphant. "Just so you know," she mentioned as she took a bite of her food, "I've noticed Jasper Hale looking at you, too."

Sloane wasn't sure what to do with that information. She simply finished her lunch in silence and made her way to the gym for her sixth period. Alice Cullen sent her a large and bright smile, the same kind of look in her eyes that Angela had possessed at lunch. "Hey, Sloane. You ready for dodgeball today?" Alice asked.

"I've never really played it," Sloane admitted, sending Alice a smile. "I'm not really a sports person. I used to be on the swim team back in Texas, but that was about it." She had debated for a while on joining the swim team in Forks, but decided against it when she remembered the average temperature of the town and that while the pool they practiced in might have been heated, it wasn't by much. And even back in Texas she hadn't been very good at it. She usually averaged third place. Her parents still came out to every meet and supported her. After each meet, they would go out to ice cream together. It was another memory Sloane was sad to let go of.

"Well, we'll just have to stick together," Alice mentioned. The girls headed down to the locker rooms to change out of their clothes and put on the ugly basketball shorts Forks offered their students before making their way back to the main gym. Coach Clapp picked two captains, Tyler Crowley and some junior girl named Whitney Pickett that Sloane had yet to meet. He then assigned the class to split up into the two teams. Alice and Sloane were luckily put on Whitney's team. Sloane wasn't sure she could handle being on Tyler's team, especially when he was creating all these problems with Lauren. The game started off easily enough. The players Tyler had picked were too busy trying to throw the dodgeballs on the better players on Whitney's team, which excluded Sloane. She was perfectly fine with that outcome.

What she was not perfectly fine with was that it somehow ended up being she and Tyler left remaining on the court. Alice had swiftly and subtly pretended to be hit with a ball so she could stand on the sidelines. Sloane tried not to feel betrayed.

"Miss Saunders, a worthy opponent indeed," Tyler said in a deep voice. Sloane resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Say, how about we make this game a little more interesting? If I win, you've got to come to the dance with me. If by some miracle you win, I'll be your servant for a day."

"I already told you," Sloane said as she stepped gracefully to the side to avoid the ball Tyler had shot her way, "I'm going to the dance with Jessica and Angela. I'd rather not be spoken about like I'm a prize to be won, either."

"But Sloane, you are a prize!" Tyler said energetically. Sloane had to resist the urge to smile. As annoying as he was, Tyler Crowley was comical. "An absolute treasure. The reason I breathe, the wind beneath my wings—okay, that _had_ to be cheating!" As Tyler had gone off on his tangent, Sloane had picked up a lone dodgeball from the floor and flung it in his direction. It hit him in the shoulder. He stared at her in disbelief for a moment before a smile spread across his face. "Alright, alright, I'll accept defeat. What is it you'd like me to do, as your official servant?"

"Stop asking me to the dance, for one," Sloane replied as Coach Clapp blew his whistle and dismissed them to their locker rooms to change out. "And two, ask Lauren to the dance. She really wants to go with you and she's been giving me the evil eye for the past three days because she thinks you and I are an item."

"Only in my heart," he said dramatically before he grinned one more. "But, I'll accept your terms. Speaking of dating, when are you and Jasper Hale going to get together?" Sloane sputtered out gibberish that made Tyler laugh. "Calm down, it's just a question. I just noticed you and Angela talking about it at lunch. You two would be cute together."

"I'll pay you money if you could talk about, maybe, anything else?" Sloane suggested. Tyler laughed again and threw his arm over his shoulder. "I thought you didn't like the Cullens?" Sloane asked. They were standing outside of the girls' locker room door now, Tyler apparently not worried about changing out quickly.

He shrugged. "I don't dislike them. They just alienate themselves. I tried to be nice to them a couple of times, but they just kinda brush me off. They brush everyone off. Until you. I've never seen Alice Cullen talk to anyone. She smiles a whole bunch, but there's no conversation. And Ben mentioned you and Emmett were talking a lot at the library on Saturday. I'm just a modern day Cupid. Master Matchmaker," he said, lightening the mood once more. "Plus, I figure you were right about you two understanding one another, with the whole parent thing, you know?"

For the first time since she had met him, Sloane saw Tyler Crowley in a different light. "Thanks, Tyler. But, I'd appreciate it if Master Matchmaker didn't try and set me up with someone. I'm not really in the market for dating right now." Plus, she wasn't sure she could handle actually finding someone she wanted to be with and then not being able to introduce them to her parents. She needed to work on herself before she even thought about adding someone else into the mix. "I've got to go change. But, I expect you to hold up your end of the deal."

"No more asking you, but definitely more asking of Lauren. I'll see you later, Sloane."

Sloane changed back into her normal outfit and spritzed some perfume before she made her way to her government class. Ben was already sitting in the seat next to her when she arrived, and she sent him a smile. The two Cullen brothers were already in their seats behind her, Emmett laughing at something he was reading on a book Jasper had in front of them. He smiled at Sloane when he caught her looking. There was that look in his eyes again, the mischievous look that Angela and Alice had given. However, unlike the two girls, he didn't say anything, so Sloane turned back around in her seat. The four of them waited for Mrs. Lovejoy to give directions before they started working on their projects once more. There was a small vibration in her pocket, so Sloane pulled out her phone subtly to look at the text.

 **From: Lauren**

 _Tyler just asked me to that back to school dance! Can you believe it?_

If there was one thing Sloane liked about Lauren, it was that she was easy to please. Sloane sent back an encouraging text about how she knew Tyler was going to ask Lauren eventually and that it was only just a matter of time. She sighed, happy the problem with Lauren seemed to be resolved for the moment. As she slipped her phone back into her pocket, Mrs. Lovejoy started the lecture about the beginning staged of government in the United States before letting the groups break away and work on their projects with fifteen minutes of class left to spare. Fortunately for Sloane's group, they were already ahead of schedule, which left them free to talk about anything.

"What decade are you going as?" Ben asked. Sloane stared at him for a moment before realizing he was talking about the theme of the dance. "I was thinking fifties, but I'm not sure how I'd look in the whole Danny Zuko role. I feel like I'm more of a Ferris Bueller character." Sloane resisted the urge to laugh. She remembered Angela telling her that she was going in a poodle skirt and converse, so Sloane sent a grin to Ben.

"You could rock the Danny Zuko look if you really wanted to," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "I think you should. I'll probably either go as someone from the eighties or nineties. If I can find any of Rachel's old legwarmers, my decision will definitely be made for me." Sloane was pretty sure Rachel also had blue eyeshadow hiding somewhere in the house that Sloane could take advantage of if she really wanted to. "Are you guys going to the dance?" she asked the two brothers.

Emmett shook his head. "Dances aren't really my thing. Besides, we're actually going to Seattle this weekend. Carlisle's got some kind of convention up there and we're using it as an excuse for a family trip. We'll be back Sunday to work more on the project, though."

Sloane couldn't help but wish that the Cullens would come. It would make her feel like she wasn't the only other outsider, not just another person that didn't want to be there. Still, she understood the importance of family now more than ever. If the Cullens were taking a trip together, that should be their main priority.

Still, even though Emmett had told her they weren't going to come, it didn't make her feel less disappointed as she stood on the sidelines that Saturday night, dressed in bright leggings and purple lipstick. Her hair was teased enough to weigh at least five pounds and she wanted nothing more than to go home. Unfortunately, she had agreed to stay the night at Angela's house and was serving as Angela's ride for the night, so she couldn't leave until her friend wanted to. She sighed and sipped more on her water, wondering what had changed in the past year. The old Sloane would have loved something like this, and would be out on the dance floor dancing wildly to La Bamba and laughing with her friends.

Her therapist back in Texas had told her that she shouldn't shut herself out. She hadn't realized that that wasn't the problem. The problem was that Sloane put herself out there too much, and too often was left standing on the sidelines wondering why she couldn't just shut off her emotions for one night and have fun, like her peers were. She wasn't shutting herself out as she caught Jessica's eye and plastered on a grin, moving to the center of the dance floor and shimmying her shoulders to a song from Hairspray, only to return to the sidelines after the dance was done. The problem wasn't that she was excluding herself.

It was that she was including herself in something she had absolutely no desire to be doing whatsoever. And it made her feel empty.

She saw Tyler and Lauren, dressed in matching sixties attire and hanging around Jessica, who had dressed up like someone straight out of a nineties sitcom. Then there was Ben, who had taken Sloane's advice and decided to dress up like he was a regular Danny Zuko. She had laughed upon seeing Angela's blush when the bespectacled girl realized she and the guy she was crushing on had unknowingly coordinated outfits. Angela looked great in a bright red poodle skirt with her hair tied up with a big red bow. Everyone looked wonderful, even Mike and Eric who had dressed up like they were from the forties. Everyone looked like they were having the time of their lives, eager and ready to be the teenage kids they were.

Sloane wondered if she'd ever be a normal teenager again.

She brushed off the bottom of her tulle skirt and took another sip of her water, wishing there was enough liquid in that cup to drown out her thoughts. The music had switched to something from the seventies now, but Sloane couldn't bring herself to pay attention to what was playing. All she was focused on was the fact that she wished she were anywhere but there.

She wished she were back in Texas, for just a moment. She wished she were having a movie night with her parents and watching stupid movies that her father somehow enjoyed. The popcorn would be gone before the movie even got past the title sequence and then Garrett Saunders would make his infamous Saunders recipe ice cream sundaes. Amy would always stretch out too far on the couch and end up plopping her feet on Sloane's lap and Sloane would pretend to be upset but in reality not care a bit. And after the movie was over, Amy would press a kiss to Sloane's head and head up for bed, but Garrett was always ready for one more movie. He stayed up almost as late as Sloane did. And when Sloane started to drift off, Garrett would nudge her shoulder and ask if she wanted to go up to bed but she never did because she didn't want him to have to finish the movie alone.

Rachel and Brandon had a similar routine. When they did movie night, Brandon would make tacos and Rachel would whip up about a dozen too many cupcakes that the three would enjoy. Brandon liked to pretend he had a choice in the movie, but Rachel would always end up picking one that she loved no matter how much Brandon wanted to watch _Star Wars_. Rachel would lean up against Brandon's side until he fell asleep halfway through the movie and Rachel kicked away from him, annoyed that he was snoring through one of her favorite scenes. When the lead had finally declared she was in love with whoever her leading love was, Rachel would pull Sloane close and give her a big hug. After the movie was over, Rachel would tug Brandon to bed and Sloane would sit in the darkness for a little while before heading up to her room to finally go to sleep, feeling satisfied but never completely whole.

Because no matter how wonderful Rachel and Brandon were, they weren't what Sloane needed deep in her chest. They weren't what Sloane cried out for in the middle of the night when she had a nightmare and needed someone to stay in her room until she fell asleep. They weren't Amy and Garrett Saunders.

Sloane heard the song before she could truly process what was happening. She saw Lauren and Tyler dancing, Angela and Ben were laughing as Mike told them some sort of joke, and Eric was trying to impress Jessica with his dancing skills. But as the music of a popular eighties song faded out and the familiar tune of the one song Sloane never wanted to hear again began to play, it was like she was frozen in this ever-present capsule of sorrow.

She was outside before Elvis even started singing.

It was freezing outside of the school, but the cold weather wasn't enough to send Sloane back inside. Outside, there was no one to watch her as she rushed and in her hurry to get away tripped and fell on the blacktop. She felt the gravel on the ground cut into her palms and felt her tights rip through the force of her knees slamming against the blacktop, but she didn't feel it. All she felt was the crushing feeling she'd been trying to push back since she'd arrived in Forks. Her eyes closed and she felt the tears rush from her eyes to her cheeks, smearing whatever makeup she had thrown on that evening when she was getting ready. There was some sort of heartwrenching sob that Sloane heard before she realized it was coming from deep inside her chest; it was the sound of all the feelings she had tried to repress and all the hurt that she'd been avoiding.

Forks wasn't home. Because home was a place where you were surrounded by people you loved, people you would do anything for. And while Brandon and Rachel fell into this category, it just wasn't quite enough.

And for a moment, Sloane let herself be selfish. She let herself wallow in self-pity as she sat on the blacktop of the parking lot, hidden behind someone's obnoxiously large truck. She let the tears sting her eyes and let her head fall into her hands. "Mom," she whispered, letting the word fall from her tongue for the first time in forever. "Dad," she added, "I'm sorry I can't be fine. I want to be fine. But I can't."

And then it was over. She saw the lights in the gym pulsating, signaling that the song was finished and that Sloane was okay to return. She stood from the ground, examining the cuts on her palms and the small amount of blood that was trailing down her leg and turning the blue on her tights brown. She made her way to the only bathroom they had left unlocked for the night and cleaned up the scrapes, not even wincing when she rubbed a paper towel over them. She ran her fingers under her eyes and fixed up her makeup before she gave herself a smile in the mirror. It was wobbly and uncertain, but her friends were too happy to notice. She was back to being the picture perfect girl that nothing could touch. As she walked back into the gym, she was unaware of the eyes on her.

Emmett Cullen stood under the cover of a dark building, watching with hooded eyes as Sloane made her way back into the building. He had been finishing his hunting trip when Alice had called, asking if he could check on the human girl he was actually becoming fond of. He watched her transform from the broken childlike girl crying in the middle of the pavement to the warrior, marching her way back into the dance as if nothing had happened. As if she hadn't broken down crying when she heard that song.

When he had asked Alice why it was so important to make sure Sloane Saunders was okay, she hadn't given him a straight answer. All she'd said was that she'd help Jasper in some way. Emmett was torn between not believing his sister and putting too much faith in Sloane. As much as he joked, he wanted nothing more than for his brother than to be okay. To be safe, and to be somewhat happy. Though he had a hard time believing that a human could help the one person in his family that was a real threat to her, he wanted to take Alice at her word. "God," he said, crossing his arms over his chest as he stood watch like Alice had wanted, "what did you get yourself into, Jazz?"

One thing was for sure. Sloane Saunders was more than meets the eye.

"Any reason why I'm out here if you knew nothing was going to happen to her?" Emmett asked out loud, knowing that the slightest breeze that had washed over him was his sister's true speed. Alice was suddenly by his side, staring with their magnified eyesight through the window of the gym, sight locking in on the blonde. "She wasn't in danger. Got a couple of scrapes and bruises, but she's fine."

"She's not fine," Alice said sadly, shaking her head. "Seeing her makes me happy to be a vampire. After all the years, grief passes faster. More practice, I suppose."

Emmett couldn't help but agree. He had gotten lucky. He had Rosalie, his own personal angel in the darkness. As long as he had her, he was fine with whatever existence he was meant to live. While Edward was stuck on the fact that vampires didn't possess souls, Emmett knew that he was wrong. If he didn't have a soul, he couldn't have loved Rosalie with the magnitude that he did. The blonde angel who had saved him when even he wasn't sure he was worth it.

Maybe, just maybe, Sloane needed someone to save her too.

"Be honest with me, Alice," Emmett said after a while. "Does she make Jasper happy?"

Alice nodded. "And he makes her happy in return." They watched Sloane be pulled to the center of the dance floor, forcing a laugh as her friends made her dance to something from the Grease soundtrack. "There's a lot of healing that needs to be done. For the both of them. But it'll all work out."

"I've never had any reason to doubt you before." And he hadn't. Alice had always been one constant that he could count on. That the entire family could count on.

Sloane exited the building, Angela Weber in tow. Sloane was smiling as if nothing in the world bothered her and she waved a goodbye to the rest of her friends, getting behind the wheel of her new car before she made sure the two of them were buckled in. When her car sped away, Emmett and Alice watched her drive over the familiar pavement and fade into view.

* * *

A little more Cullen interaction as well as some definite character development for Sloane! What did you guys think of that ending scene? Let me know what you want to see more of! And now for some review answers!

 **tooclosefortety** : _I'm not from Brazil, but I saw the word online and thought the definition was absolutely beautiful and fit Sloane so perfectly! I'm so happy you picture Rachel as Sara Canning, because that's actually who I picture her as too! Definitely has a Jenna-vibe about her. Jenna was one of my absolute favorite characters._

 **hanlue** : _Thank you so much! I think I've definitely improved as a writer as well. I want to go back and edit the hell out of Skulls and Bones, but I'm not sure when I'll ever have the time. I'm so glad you're liking Saudade. Any scenes between Carlisle or Esme and Sloane are going to be some of my favorites just to write, just because Sloane tends to gravitate towards parental figures ever since losing hers._

 **lizyeh2000** : _Yay! Thanks for following! I actually saw the name in a newspaper article my mom was reading and it just stuck with me!_

 **FreeSpiritSeeker** : _I'm so glad you're enjoying! I hope this chapter lived up to expectations._

 **tinytrinz** : _Thank you so much! Updates are hard with college, but I'm trying my best, I promise!_

 **Lily Noir** : _Sara Canning for Rachel, definitely. Not sure if you've ever seen Vampire Diaries, but she played the main character's aunt on there and that's kind of what I based Rachel off of. As for Brandon, I picture Shemar Moore from Criminal Minds! My Derek Morgan heart couldn't resist! I'm glad you're liking their development as well as Sloane's!_

 **CottonKey** : _Slow-burns are my favorite kind of stories! I'm so glad I seem to be doing the trope justice!_

 **firehottie** : _Reviews like this give me inspiration, so thank you!_


	5. Four

**Hi loves! Back with another chapter of Saudade for you guys! I'm so so happy with the response this last chapter got! You all seemed to really like how Sloane's character is developing (which makes me so happy because I love Sloane). I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!**

* * *

Sloane was fairly certain Rachel was going to faint.

She could only imagine what her aunt was preparing to do. Here Rachel was, a woman only thirty-years-old and suddenly taking care of a teenager that wasn't hers. And now she was going to her first Back to School parent-teacher conference as a guardian. Before Sloane, she'd never had to worry about things like conferences or Back to School nights. Rachel had been debating on what appropriate attire for a parent-teacher conference was for over an hour and Sloane was sure that Rachel was going to pass out. Brandon was the epitome of calm, cool, and collected as he stood in his bedroom in his nice jeans and button down, rolling his eyes at his wife every time Rachel demanded that she needed to change.

"Rach, we're going to be late if you don't pick an outfit. Imagine the kind of impression that will leave. And then, because we didn't show up, the teachers will take it out on Sloane and next thing you know, we've ruined her high school experience and she moves away and hates us because you couldn't find the right skirt to wear."

"Your sarcasm isn't helping!" Rachel screamed, emerging from the bathroom in a nearly identical black skirt, black blazer, and pretty violet turtleneck underneath. Sloane didn't dare tell her aunt that the outfit looked the same, save for the new pop of violet. "Does this look okay? Don't you dare answer," she snapped, directing her harsh words towards Brandon before looking pointedly at Sloane. "Do you think I look presentable? Be honest. Brutally so."

"You look great, Aunt Rachel. Perfect combination of classy and respectable. No one's going to doubt that you're doing a good job at raising me. And besides... if the teachers do end up hating me because you're late, I promise to only blame it on Uncle Brandon. I'll come visit on holidays as long as you can assure me that he's out of the house."

"Deal." They both ignored Brandon's indignant protest that escaped his mouth before Rachel slipped on black heels. "Alright, I think I'm ready. You," she said, pointing at Sloane, "call us if you need anything, okay? We should be back in about three hours. We're getting dinner afterwards so if you're hungry there's things in the fridge or you can always call us and we'll pick you something up. Emergency contacts are on the side of the fridge, just tell them you're our niece. I trust that you'll do your homework before you watch any TV or mess around on your laptop. Am I missing any rules a guardian normally enforces before they leave the house? Do I have to tell you not to set the place on fire?"

"Rach," Brandon said quickly, but it was too late. Her statement was already out in the open, hanging between the three of them in absolute silence. Sloane watched her aunt's face crumble when she realized what she had said. She opened her mouth — Sloane assumed to apologize — but couldn't seem to get any words out. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, like a fish trying to breathe outside of water.

"Sloane," Rachel finally said after a few moments, time crunch now forgotten. The look on her face was that of someone who couldn't believe that she'd just reminded her niece of the way her parents had died. The kind of horrified look that one got while watching a scary movie knowing that someone was about to die but not being able to do anything about it. "Oh my God. I can't believe I just said that. Sloane, I'm so sor— "

"It's okay, Aunt Rachel. I knew you only meant it as a joke." If it had been anyone else, Sloane might have been offended, but she knew Rachel had lost someone in that fire too. She refused to feel the selfish stab of anger at her aunt's words. Not when Rachel and Brandon had done so much for her. "Really, I know you didn't mean anything by it."

"C'mon Rach, we're gonna be late." Brandon started tugging on Rachel's hand. "We'll be back later, Sloane. Call if you need anything and lock the door behind us." The last thing Sloane saw before they were walking out of their bedroom was the still horrified look on her aunt's face. Sloane waited until she heard the front door closing before she slowly walked down the hallway and to the large white door, clicking the lock shut as she heard her aunt and uncle pull out of their driveway.

When she was alone, Sloane sat at the kitchen table and stared at her hands for a little while. She didn't know how to keep them from shaking, watching their small little tremors. She didn't blame her aunt for making the statement. It was something most parents joked about when they left the house in the care of their teenage kids. Sloane tried to rationalize with herself that she shouldn't be upset but telling herself that was different than actually believing it. Because when she closed her eyes, she could still see the body of her parents burnt to a crisp. She could still remember the feeling of her heart absolutely ceasing to beat in her chest when her grandma pulled her away from the window at the hospital but Sloane's eyes didn't leave until she was forcibly grabbed by the wrist and tugged away. She could still hear the muffled sounds of her grandmother having to call her daughter and tell her that her sister was gone.

Sloane suddenly stood from her seat at the table, grabbing the closest phone she could find and punching in a number. She listened to it ring for a little while before Sloane's ears were filled with the sound of someone picking up the phone. " _Hello?_ "she heard faintly from the other side of the line.

"Angela," Sloane replied, trying her best to sound cheery. "Parent teacher conferences are tonight and I really don't feel like staying home. You said your grandma was watching your brothers, right? Want to go somewhere? The options in Forks are limited but we could drive to Port Angeles?" Sloane tried to stop her words from coming out too quickly, like she was desperate to leave the house. But she realized in the time between waiting for Angela's answer and actually receiving Angela's answer, she was. She was desperate to not be home tonight, to not wallow in pity and be sad. Tonight, she wanted to forget about everything. She wanted to have a girl's night with her friend and be a normal kid.

" _I don't see why we couldn't_ ," Angela replied after a few moments after thinking about it. " _Yeah, actually, Port Angeles sounds really fun. We can go shopping and have dinner there. Oh! We can go see that new movie that's out, too!_ " Sloane found herself nodding at Angela's words even though she knew it was useless because Angela couldn't see her. " _That's actually a really good idea. Let me go call my parents really quick and ask them and then I'll get back to you._ " Sloane heard the beeping of the dial tone and grabbed the closest Post-It note stack she could find, jotting down a quick message to Rachel and Brandon explaining where she was. She wasn't worried about them being angry for not calling them. As awful as it was, she knew Rachel would be feeling too guilty about her comment to ever tell Sloane she needed to come home. No, Sloane knew she was free to stay out with Angela for as long as she wanted to.

Suddenly realizing she was still in her pajamas, she padded down the hall to her room and stripped down from the flannel pajama pants and holey shirt, instead trading them out for clean jeans and a solid black shirt. There was a slight moment in time when she forgot she was in Forks and could lave the house without a jacket, but when she looked at the way the trees were moving outside in the breeze, she made sure to grab a jacket and put warm boots on her feet. By the time she deemed herself ready, her phone was ringing once more with an incoming call. "Hey, Angela," she said upon answering. She didn't figure it was anyone else. "What did your parents say?"

" _They said we're good to go as long as you drive. Sorry Sloane, but my parents are weird about me driving out of town. They still think I'm five, I swear. I'll be happy to chip in with some gas money if you want._ "

Sloane wished more than anything her parents could still be weird about her driving out of town or treat her like a child. Hell, she wished that even if they were the worst parents in the world, they would still be here. Because no matter what, they were _hers_. And it hurt that they _weren't_ the worst parents in the world because it made the sting of losing them even harder. "Don't worry about it, Ang. Save your money for a cute outfit or something. Do we have another dance coming up that you can buy an outfit for or something?"

" _The next dance we have is the Sadie Hawkins' Dance, where the girls ask the guys. That isn't until sometime in February, though. There's not a lot of dances that go on in Forks._ " Sloane was slightly relieved about this fact. She wasn't sure she could stand another dance after the homecoming one that had made her burst into tears. In Texas, she would have jumped at the opportunity to shop with her friends for an upcoming dance, wondering if this was the year she was finally going to be homecoming princess, since the title of the homecoming queen was reserved for juniors and seniors. Here in Forks, she just wanted to survive a night without thinking of her parents like a child. " _Do you need my address?_ "

Sloane used the same pile of Post-It notes to write Angela's address on. She was doing better and learning street names and felt proud when she knew exactly where Angela's house was. Her car roared to life when she started it up and she put the heat on full blast to warm her chilly fingers. While she drove, she listened to the hum of her car's engine and the silence in the cab. This was how she liked driving now, with no music playing in the background. She'd never used to like driving in silence, but after one too many mishaps with the radio playing that stupid song, she'd figured it would be safest to either listen to the current Top 40 hits station that sometimes went out of range and got static feedback or the CD her father had made for her.

Needless to say, she didn't want either.

Getting to Angela's house was incredibly easy and Sloane grinned, rolling down her window to send a wave to Angela, who was staring out of her living room window in anticipation of Sloane's arrival. Angela waved back cheerily before disappearing from the window. When Sloane saw her again, she had her house keys in her hand and was locking the front door behind her. She jogged over to the passenger side of Sloane's car and hopped in, giving Sloane a bright enough smile to make the blonde feel like getting away from the house that night was the right decision. "Hi. Thanks for picking me up. I've had my license for a year and my parents still don't trust me. It's a bit ridiculous, if I'm being honest, but they'll take my keys away if I don't do as they say and having a car and not being able to drive it out of town is better than having no car."

Sloane felt a laugh bubble out of her throat. "You aren't wrong. Are there any stores in particular you want to go to? I think I heard Rachel talking about some boutique she fell in love with over there. I'm in serious need of new jackets considering I have the ones I brought with me from Texas all belonged to my grandmother and are just a little outdated." Even as outdated as they were, they had kept her warm throughout the five months she had been in Forks, so she wasn't taking them for granted. "What time is the movie?"

"I think the website said 9:45." Angela looked at the clock, reading the time. "We probably have enough time to do our shopping and dinner beforehand if you want. It's only 5:30, which means we'll probably get there around 6:40. I never actually asked you if you wanted to see the movie. It's this cute new romantic comedy that's supposed to be out. If you don't like that kind of thing we can see something else."

"Romantic comedy sounds perfect. I don't need something dark and heavy," Sloane replied. "What was it that Mike and Tyler were talking about at lunch yesterday? _The Grudge_?" Sloane shuddered in her seat. "God, I can't stand horror films." She wondered if she got it from her father. Amy Saunders lived for the gory and grotesque. She loved movies that made her think things went bump in the night. Garrett was more Sloane's speed, into the eighties and action packed superhero movies. Sloane remembered Amy calling him out on his fears, goading him into watching horror movies with the one question most males hated: are you too scared? Though he would never admit how scared he was, Amy used to tell Sloane she'd always feel Garrett hold her closer as if to reassure himself that there was someone in the room with him.

"Me either. I don't think I'll ever understand the appeal." Angela leaned back in her seat and fiddled with her glasses. "So, Ben told me that you guys are working on a project in government." Sloane shot a side glance over to Angela, who seemed entirely too interested in her nailbuds when the topic of Ben was brought up. "He's really nice, yeah? I mean, you two seemed to have hit it off. "

"We have," Sloane agreed, a small and sly smile creeping across her face. "Ben's a great guy. Nice, funny."

"Yeah, yeah, I guess you're right." Angela picked at her nails for a little while longer. Sloane noticed her shift her body just slightly, too stiff to be comfortable but too posed to be natural. A gesture of nonchalance. "So, does he... I don't know... talk about anything?" At Sloane's raised eyebrow, Angela blushed and continued. "I mean, does he talk about anyone that he may... I don't know... like, maybe, I guess?" She added a shrug to prove the point that she was definitely _not_ interested in Sloane's answer. Sloane had to bit her lips together to keep from chuckling. "I mean, not that I care or anything, but I was just wondering."

"Angela," Sloane said in a knowing voice, giving her friend a grin, "if you like Ben you should tell him. If there's one thing I learned in these last few months, it's that you literally only live once. It's a cliche of the highest form, but it's true." In reality, she couldn't express how true it really was. "Look, I don't want to dampen the mood but... I have first hand experience on feeling like you missed out on something. There are so many things I wish I could have done, could have said and now the chance is forever gone. And I'll be left with those giant 'what ifs' over my head for the rest of my life. Never getting answers, never seeing what could become. And though it may seem like the worst thing in the world, the worst thing he could do is say no. It might hurt, but it's not impossible to get over. Rejection is one of life's easiest ailments. The one that goes away more quickly than other things." Sloane looked at Angela and saw her biting her lip in concentration. "The choice is up to you, but I really do think you should tell him. Something tells me that Ben wouldn't reject you."

"Do you miss them?" Angela suddenly asked, a question that burst from her lips like sunlight through a cracked window. Or like a gust of wind blowing into that door that Sloane had wanted to keep shut, locked, and deadbolted for the rest of her life. Angela seemed to see what she'd done and what mistake she'd made, for she gulped and shook her head. "No, no, don't answer that. That was incredibly rude of me, I'm sorry. Of course you miss them."

Sloane let the silence of the ride return. This time, however, it wasn't the peaceful silence of no music distracting them or words not needing to be said because things were comfortable. This time, the silence was clawing at her and eating her alive, threatening to make the night awkward. Sloane didn't want that at all. Tonight was supposed to be about getting out of the house and enjoy being a normal teenager. Which was why minutes later, when Angela had returned to nervously picking at her nails, Sloane nodded. "Yeah," she said to the silence, shattering it with the one word. "Yeah, I really miss them. Having Rachel and Brandon is wonderful and they're amazing... but they aren't my parents, you know?"

"I don't think you should try to compare them," Angela said softly, as if it wasn't her place to give Sloane advice. Little did Angela know that Sloane would hang on to every piece of advice she could get if it meant she could finally realize how to make some of the hurt go away. "Obviously they're going to be different. And though you don't have the same kind of love, you've definitely got something. I hear it in the way Rachel tells my aunt about you when they get together. She's never talked about wanting kids before and now she thinks she's ready. And while they may not be your parents, they're pretty great guardians. There's a hole that'll never be completely filled, but I can't think of two better people to try."

If she were being honest with herself, Sloane couldn't think of two better people either. "Rachel said she wants to have kids?" she asked quietly, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel. She hadn't even considered that Rachel wanted to be stuck with anymore kids, especially when the one she was being forced to watch over wasn't her daughter in biological terms. "I thought—" Sloane cut herself off and shook her head, "— I thought I was a burden. I've tried not to be, but what thirty-year-old woman wants a kid that isn't her own?"

Angela looked so shocked that Sloane's heart swelled. "Are you kidding? Rachel's completely enamored with you. She loves having you around. Sloane, I don't think you could be a burden to her even if you tried. She's never had practice being in a maternal role and now she has." A small laugh filled the space between her words and she shrugged when Sloane gave her a questioning look. "I just don't get how you can't see how much Rachel and Brandon care about you."

Sloane chewed on her bottom lip as she took the exit off the freeway and pulled into the town of Port Angeles. It didn't seem like the car ride had taken an hour, but she was pleasantly surprised that it had. "You'll have to lead me around. I've only been here once," she told Angela as she pulled her car into a parking spot and turned the engine off. Once the heat stopped blowing on her she feared opening the door and letting in a gust of cold air. No matter how many months she spent in Forks, she'd probably never get used to the weather. "Any good places to eat around here?"

"There's a little Italian place my parents and I like to go to when we're here, but they also have cheaper options near the theater. I'm not sure how much money you're willing to spend, but I've only got like eighty in my wallet and that's just because my parents have started paying me for babysitting." When Sloane checked her wallet, she found she only had sixty. Twenty she had earned when Brandon paid her for gas for taking Rachel to the hospital. Forty was from her own savings account from the library job she had at her old school back in Texas. "What shop do you want to hit first? There's dressier shops, casual shops, and a weirdly place shop that just sells socks called the Sock Drawer."

Sloane let out a laugh and linked her arm through Angela's as they begun to walk towards the main strip of stores and little shops. Later, when they got McDonald's so they could save money for candy at the movies, Sloane almost forgot what she had been sad about in the first place. And while there was still that pesky little hole that couldn't ever be filled, Sloane decided right then and there that just because it couldn't be filled didn't mean it had to run her life. She could sit and have fun at the movies and try not to laugh too loudly when Angela spilled her popcorn all over the floor during the big kiss scene; she could laugh at the overly priced jacket that she probably shouldn't have bought but looked so great on her that she couldn't resist. And she could definitely get home that night and give her aunt a giant hug to let her know that she was the luckiest niece on the planet to have an aunt that loved her that much.

Sloane Saunders could do all those things. Because while her parents were gone, it didn't mean she didn't feel damn grateful to have had them for seventeen years.

* * *

"Did you find anything helpful in there? Because I swear I looked for about an hour and couldn't find anything that would reflect on Abraham Lincoln." Ben was currently pointing to the copy of _Celia a Slave_ that was sitting near Sloane's elbow on the library desk. The four of them had decided to meet up again to work on the project, the Cullen brothers chalking it up to wanting to get the project done as soon as possible. Sloane didn't mind that. In fact, she preferred not having to procrastinate and worry about it until it stressed her out so much she wanted to hit her head against a wall. At the mention of the book, Sloane cast a glance to it and shook her head, sliding it over to Ben so he could look again.

"I didn't find anything, but if you want to look again, you can." Sloane's eyes had been focused on the text in front of her for so long that her eyes were starting to get blurry and she was starting to get a headache. She had her forehead squished in her thumb and index finger to try and relieve some of the pressure building up, but she couldn't seem to get rid of it. She'd taken medicine to try and relieve it a little that morning, but nothing seemed to be working.

This wasn't how she would spend a normal Saturday, locked up in the library and doing nothing but homework. The old version of herself would be screaming in social agony had she seen Sloane surrounded by books instead of friends and cute boys she convinced herself were in her league, even when they weren't. But since Rachel had been feeling extra guilty about the little comment she had made the night of the parent teacher conferences, Sloane had assured her that she was feeling absolutely fine and promised herself that she would study harder to make life easier on her aunt and uncle. And when she got home, she had already promised Rachel that a girl's night consisting of at-home manicures and pizza was what awaited them. Until then, she would be a good student and stare at articles of Abraham Lincoln until her eyes felt like they were going to fall out of her head.

"I seriously need a food break," Ben announced as he slammed his bag onto the table, making Sloane jump. "I've got a bag of chips. Anyone want some?" Both the Cullen brothers shook their heads politely. Sloane was about to follow suit when she felt her stomach whine in protest. Luckily it wasn't loud enough to be heard, but she accepted the offer and reached her hand into the bag to chips to munch on a few. "Okay, we're seriously sitting here like zombies. Let's take a break from studying and chat for a while. If I read one more time about how Lincoln let the Union through the Civil War, I'm going to scream." Sloane grinned. In Ben's words she could completely agree.

"Imagine how it felt for Lincoln," Sloane joked, reaching for another handful of chips. She chewed on them for a few moments before speaking again. "But, you're right. My eyes are going to fall out of their sockets if I don't stop reading. What do you want to talk about?"

"We could always play the 'if' game." Sloane gave him a blank look and he sighed. "Really, have you never seen _Dawson's Creek_? The 'if' game?" Sloane didn't hear the ending of his sentence, too busy chuckling at his confession of what shows he watched. "Stop laughing, it's a great show. Okay, so it goes like this. Sloane, if you could be one animal, what would you be?"

Sloane decided to humor him. "I don't know. Maybe a bird." She hadn't ever really thought about it before. It would be pretty cool to fly, wouldn't it? "Okay, I'll play along. If you could eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?" She leaned her chin against her hand, propping it there. Ben pursed his lips, seriously thinking over the question in his brain. While he was deciding, Sloane sneaked a peek down at her notes, trying to scan to see if doing a double take would magically make some new information stick out. She sighed almost inaudibly when she didn't find anything new.

"Pizza. I mean, you can't go wrong with it, right? If I'm not feeling pepperoni, then I can get a veggie pizza. If I'm not feeling veggies, I can get a barbecue chicken pizza." Sloane laughed. She didn't think she'd ever put as much thought into what kind of food she would eat for the rest of her life as Ben apparently did. "Okay. Emmett," the burly Cullen brother looked surprised to be addressed, but Sloane had caught the tail end of an amused smile on his lips, like he couldn't believe Ben and Sloane were actually stupid enough for participating. "If you could have anything in the world, what would it be?"

Sloane knew her answer to the question easily enough. She wanted her parents back. She wanted their movie nights, the times she could listen to Elvis without crying, the times her mother would help her fix her car. But then things got difficult. Sure, she could have her parents back, but shouldn't she be less selfish with her answer? Shouldn't she say she wanted more than anything for her grandparents to be okay with losing their children? Shouldn't she say she wanted Rachel and Brandon to get everything they wanted in life because of the support and love they had given her in the past few months?

"A Ferrari Enzo," Emmett replied, earning a laugh from Ben and Sloane. Sloane wasn't sure what kind of car that was in particular, but Ben's eyes seemed to light up when he thought of it, in that way that car fanatics' did. She figured it was extremely expensive. "Sloane," he said and her name coming off his lips surprised her. She was sure he was going to ask his brother a question. "If you could go one place in the world, where would it be?"

A thousand places raced through Sloane's head. She had always wanted to visit Greece and see the architecture in Santorini. She defninitely wanted to visit Germany with her aunt and live out the dream Rachel never got to see. And she couldn't even begin to count how many times she claimed that one day she was going to visit Costa Rica and put her toes in the warm sand. There was one place in particular that stuck out. "Paris," she replied, a warm smile brightening her face. More specifically, the Mobster Diner in Paris. Unbeknownst to the three at the table with her, it was where Amy and Garrett Saunders had spent their honeymoon. She remembered listening to all the stories her father had told her about how beautiful the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre.

"But if there's anywhere you should go when you go to Paris," Garrett had told her one evening as they sat at a small restaurant on the outskirts of their city, "you should go to the Mobster Diner. Greatest burger I've ever had." But she could tell there was something more to the diner when her father's eyes gleamed. "That was the first restaurant your mother and I ate at as a married couple. We were starving when we got to Paris and it was the first restaurant we saw. In the corner table, near this giant window with a beautiful view of the streets of France. And I swear, Sloane, I looked at your mother right then and there and that's when it hit me. That I was going to be married to this beautiful woman for the rest of my life." Sloane looked at him with wide, wonder-filled eyes. "And then before we left, I took out the switchblade I keep in my pocket and carved our initials on the side of the table. I bet it's still there."

Sloane promised she would look for it one day, when she went to Paris. She would sit in the corner table of the Mobster Diner with the beautiful view of the streets of Paris, and she would run her fingers over the indents in the wooden table, where _GS_ and _AS_ were carved forever.

Emmett nodded thoughtfully as he digested her answer. Sloane wracked her brain trying to come up with a question she wanted to ask. She could ask Ben what car he wanted to drive for the rest of his life, or she could ask Emmett what career he would want to be stuck with until the day he died. But something had her turning towards the quietest Cullen she'd encountered so far, staring at him as she processed what she wanted to ask. He was staring down at the table, hands clenched uncomfortably as she watched the muscles in his forearm move and strain with his grip. His eyes slowly raised, looking at her as she gave him an encouraging smile. "Jasper. If you could relive one moment over, what would it be?"

There wasn't much in Jasper Hale's life that he wanted to see repeated. He didn't want to become a vampire, thirsting for the blood that pulsed through the human who had asked him the question. He didn't want to have met Maria, to have served under her demand and control for years until he finally saw what he was doing was wrong. He didn't want to have known the taste of human blood for so long, so he could be a better Cullen today. He couldn't tell her any of this, of that he knew. He wanted to shake his head. Why did the question even affect him? He could simply ignore it, let it be like he had all the other students of Forks High. It would certainly be easier, he admitted, as he held his breath so he couldn't smell the scent of her fluttering through the air, all his for the taking.

Emmett kicked his shin underneath the table and Jasper secretly wondered if Edward had heard his thoughts and whispered something to their older brother to stop Jasper's train of thought. But even as his leg pulsated beneath him in a small amount of pain that only the strength of someone like Emmett could cause, he still found himself wanting to answer this insignificant human's question. If he could relive one moment over, what would it be?

"Meeting Alice," he finally replied, making sure his voice was nothing but a whisper in the air and that he didn't breathe in when he spoke. "Meeting my family."

He felt it. He felt the warmth and the understanding and even the little amount of jealously that she felt. He felt it flowing through her like a body of water rushing, calm in its calamity. There were moments when his gift was useless to him, when he felt the emotions of others that he didn't want to feel. His entire time with Maria was spent feeling the fear in the newborns he killed, feeling their terror as their life flashed before their eyes. This time, however, the feelings were welcomed. It was the emotions of someone who understood the importance of family. Someone who had cherished, loved, and lost in the cruelest way Earth had to offer. And even if Sloane Saunders, this human in front of him who would die in a matter of decades, didn't understand what the Cullens meant to him, she did understand how crucial they were in his life. Carlisle and Esme, the ones who had taken him in as their son and treated them like he mattered. Rosalie and Edward and Emmett, who treated him like he belonged in their family and cared so much that it was to the point of agonizingly annoying (even if he wouldn't trade it for the world).

And then there was Alice.

Alice who had saved him from that place in the diner in 1948. Alice who had told him there was another way. Alice who had assured him he didn't have to be a monster anymore, that he was more than just a pawn in Maria's game and that he always would be more. She taught him to believe in himself and believe in others. She taught him to love, unconditionally. And though Carlisle and Esme had been secretly hoping for years that Alice and Jasper might have an epiphany all these years later and be in love, Jasper knew that Alice was a different kind of soulmate. The soulmate that didn't require physical attraction and romantic love. Alice was his soulmate in the way that two people were destined to meet and know each other and grow better because of one another. Alice was meant to be his partner, his best friend, until the day his existence came to a close.

And this human knew that. She understood that.

He realized the two humans were looking at him, waiting for him to continue on with their silly little game. He cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably as Sloane flipped her hair over her shoulder and the wave of her scent hit him. He didn't dare breathe for fear he would leap across the table and crush her body in half. "If you had to watch one movie," he said, directing his question to Ben. Ben shifted happily in his seat and pondered the question.

While he decided what he was going to say, Sloane looked up and met Jasper's eyes. They were the same beautiful golden color they had always been, like melted amber. This time, there was a hidden emotion in them that she couldn't decipher. Something that told her that Jasper understood what she was going through more than she thought he did. He knew the loneliness, the longing, and the wistful feeling of nostalgia. He was the first one to break the stare as Ben enthusiastically said something about an old movie he had watched as a child. For the rest of their little game, Sloane found herself unable to look anywhere else.

Two hours later, after a good chunk of their project was done and the answers to the questions in Ben's silly game were thoughtfully accepted, Sloane found herself climbing into her car and waiting for it to heat up. While she had assumed her thoughts would be on the Mobster Diner in Paris, or the absence of her parents, her mind was on Jasper Hale. It was wrong to call him an enigma, she corrected herself. He was skilled at hiding the emotions on his face but when he would let cracks seep through, it was no mystery what he was feeling. So no, enigma wasn't the right words to use. If anything, he was just doing the same thing she was. Adjusting. Focusing. Changing.

"Aunt Rachel?" she called out when she finally arrived at the house. She knew Brandon was at work around this time so didn't bother to call out for him. When she got to the kitchen, she saw another Post-It scribbled on. _Sloane, went to the grocery store to get some things for our girls' night tonight. Feel free to have any snacks, but don't eat too much! I'm getting pizza. Love you._ Sloane ran her fingers over the last two words on the note before plucking it from the counter and folding it in half so she could stick it inside her pocket. The silence of the house wasn't unnerving like it had been her first couple of weeks in Forks. Now, she welcomed it and hummed a tuneless melody to herself as she moved around the house. First things first, she wanted to take a hot shower and get into her pajamas.

The water was hot enough to burn her skin when she stepped into the shower five minutes later. Her skin started to protest in angry, red blotches that appeared on her skin the longer she stood underneath the scalding water, but she didn't care. She let the water fall over her face, her hair, her body. When she was younger and used to take hot showers, her father would always complain if she didn't open up the bathroom window before. He hated when the mirrors were fogged up and he felt like all the heat was trapped into the one room. Sloane liked it that way. She liked stepping out of the shower and still being enveloped in a wave of hot air so she wasn't immediately freezing after the flow of the burning water ceased. While she mindlessly reached down for the shampoo and started lathering it into her hair, her thoughts traveled to the Cullen kids.

She wondered what it must have been like for all of them to lose their parents so young. By the way Emmett and Alice interacted with Carlisle, they all felt very fortunate to have him as their paternal stand-in. But she had firsthand experience in knowing that no matter how wonderful Carlisle was, he'd never be their real parents. She supposed she was luckier than them. She got to know what Amy and Garrett were like. Some of the Cullens had been adopted too young to even know their parents. Water fell onto her face as she remembered Angela's words. " _I don't think you should try to compare them._ " Was that the motto the Cullens lived by?

"Sloane?" she heard faintly from beyond the torrent of water in the shower. "Are you in the shower?" She heard Rachel's footsteps grow closer and closer until she saw the faint shadow underneath the door. "Okay, I got about every nineties romantic comedy in the world, including _She's All That_ and _10 Things I Hate About You_ ; I got pizza with mushrooms and olives because I know that's how you like it; and I also picked up some ice cream sundae ingredients for dessert. Am I forgetting anything?"

"Nothing I can think of!" Sloane replied back, running her fingers through her hair to get some conditioner in the strands. "I'll be done in about five minutes and then I'll be out there."

"Sounds good. See you in about five." The shadow underneath the door disappeared and Sloane rinsed the rest of the hair product out of her hair before shutting the water off. Her skin sang in relief when the burning water was removed from it and she wrapped a fluffy towel around her body. Swiping a line across the mirror with her hand, she stared at her reflection. She had her mother's eyes. Light brown, on the bigger side, long lashes. She had her mother's hair color but didn't get any of Amy's volume or thickness. The thin strands were all her father. She had his nose, his thin top lip and bigger bottom lip. But she was Sloane. Still a good combination of her parents— not favoring one over the other. Still the same teenager she had seen when she had looked into her mirror in Texas a year ago. Hell, even five months ago.

Five months. Five months since she had been living with her father and mother. Five months since the biggest thing she had to worry about was what she was going to wear that day for school. Five months since Amy had kissed her goodbye and Garrett had given her a hug before they carted her off to her grandmother's house for the night. It was funny how time went on. Sometimes, time went by so slowly that you thought it was absolutely agonizing. Like time knew you needed to get over something, so it purposely moved at a snail's pace. There were other times when time zipped by so fast that you couldn't keep track of it. One day, you were standing in the doors of your high school for the first time and the next thing you knew, you had a cap and gown on your body and you were getting ready to step through those doors one last time.

Sloane wasn't sure which method she would prefer, but all she knew was that time was clicking. It was going by at a pace unknown to her, slow some days but painfully fast other days. Grabbing the pajamas she had brought in there before she had showered, she pulled her limbs through the flannel pants and the solid shirt, curling her hair up and away from her neck in a bun to keep the wet strands from getting her shirt soaked. She picked up her glasses from the counter and threw them over her face, careful to make sure they didn't get wet either. Then, she looked at her reflection again. Not for vanity or because she wanted to make sure she looked good, but because she had noticed something in her reflection the last time.

Sloane looked happier. Not happier than when she was still living with her parents and she was in a familiar town with friends she thought she'd grow up with through their college years. But she looked happier than the small little girl who had cried at her parents funeral. She looked happier than the girl who had seen her parents that day at the hospital.

Rachel called her name from further down the hall as Sloane stared at herself in the glass. "Coming!" she called back, but not before memorizing every inch of her face. The heaviness that seemed to have left her eyes. The way her shoulders didn't hunch slightly, like they had been. She knew her grief was far from over. Time was a bitch. She'd think she'd be fine one day and then the next she'd want to curl up and sob. But she was getting better, and that was what mattered. She didn't know which method she'd prefer in terms of time— slow or fast. What she did know, however, was that time was passing. Things were healing. And Sloane was going to be okay in the long run.

Rachel was plopped down on the couch when Sloane made her way to the living room. Sloane's aunt was clad in her own pajamas, consisting of some warm leggings and a long sleeved shirt. She had a mug of coffee in her hands and her eyes were wide. "Get yourself some coffee because we're getting through these five movies if it's the last thing I do. I've never stayed up through a whole movie night and even though I'm thirty, it's never too late to try." Sloane took her advice and poured her own cup of coffee before snagging the spot next to Rachel's side. Like instinct, she shifted closer and pressed herself closer to Rachel's body. "Hey," Rachel said, smoothing some of Sloane's wet hair back. "You okay, kid?"

"Yeah," Sloane replied, giving Rachel a soft smile. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'm really happy to be here in Forks with you, Aunt Rachel. You and Brandon make everything easier. I don't know if I've told you that lately."

Rachel's eyes went soft. She moved even closer to Sloane, pulling the teenager into the side of her body in an awkward cuddle. Sloane didn't dare think of moving, not matter how uncomfortable it got later on in the night. "Thanks, Sloane. It's always nice to hear. We love you, you know that, right?"

How couldn't she? When Rachel was pulling her close and Brandon was buying her cars and when they both comforted her through the long days and even longer nights? Couldn't Rachel see how much she was helping? "Yeah, I know. I love you guys too." Rachel smiled down at hr and took a sip of her coffee, moving just slightly to press the play button on the remote. The movie started, quiet voices talking for a minute before Sloane moved her face to stare up at her aunt. "Oh, and Aunt Rachel?" Her aunt hummed in response. "If you fall asleep, I'm going to pour water on you."

Rachel barked out a laugh. "Sounds like a deal, kid. But I don't know, I feel tonight. I feel like this is the night I'm finally going to stay awake for all of them."

She was out by the third movie.

* * *

Rachel and Sloane's relationship is one of my favorite things to write! Let me know what you guys think of this chapter and what you might want to see more of! And please forgive any mistakes, I'll probably read through this chapter tomorrow and try and find any mistakes. I just wanted to get it out to you guys tonight!

 **yellowhansel:** _That's who I imagine Rachel as too! The cool aunt. And the one thing I knew when I started this story was that I definitely didn't want Alice to be the jealous/rude ex girlfriend. I think it's doing Alice as a character a serious disservice to dismiss just how much she truly helped Jasper! And with that being said, I think it's perfectly normal for her to have helped him as a friend, which is what I did in this story. I like to think of them in the Saudade universe as "friend soulmates." You know, like that one friend you're just destined to meet? That's what I wanted to convey in this story!_

 **cassiefusion:** _I'm glad that you're liking it! I wanted to make Sloane a character with more depth and less of just a "love interest" heroine. I'm sorry for your loss and hope it gets better for you. Time heals, but sometimes not as fast or as much as we'd like. Stay strong, beautiful!_

 **tooclosefortety:** _Originally, I wasn't going to include the scene of Alice and Emmett going to check on her in case it seemed a little too out of character for them, but then I realized it probably wouldn't be too out of character for Alice if she knew how important Sloane was going to be in Jasper's life! And Emmett just goes with the flow of his family, so he was happy to help Alice out. I definitely want to shell out Rosalie/Sloane scenes in the future, so I'm glad that's something you'd like to see too!_

 **Rose1414:** _I love you! Thanks for reading!_

 **Marie0907:** _Your English is wonderful! I'm glad you're liking the story! Slow-burns are just more realistic, which is why I love them! I'm happy you feel I'm doing the slow-burn justice!_

 **lizyeh2000:** _Yay! I was hoping people would take the change of POV well! Thanks for reading!_

 **tinytrinz:** _Thank you lovely!_

 **acompletenerd:** I'm not sure how soon this was (sorry about that), but I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

 **SheikahLover:** _The second I started writing this story, I knew I wanted to make Sloane's reactions to the Cullens different than Bella's. I didn't mind Bella as a character, but I'm with you when you say the one thing you didn't like about her was that her life and thoughts revolved mostly around the Cullens! I knew I wanted more for Sloane! The beauty of a slow-burn is getting to flesh out the character instead of just the romance and that's been one of my favorite things about writing her. Plus, I've always adored the human friends in Twilight and wanted to include more of them! Sloane definitely has better things to focus on than the Cullens! I want her to be able to feel okay in herself and in regards to losing her parents and moving to an unknown city before throwing them in there too much! (Also, I'm so glad you think I'm doing Jasper justice because he's such a fun and complicated character to write and I want to make him as close to the Jasper that S. Meyer created as possible)! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter - and good luck with college! I'm out for the summer, thank the lord._

 **Bookl0ver1998:** _I hope this chapter lived up to expectations! Thanks for reading!_

 **Neonflowerbot:** _I'm so happy you like her! She's definitely a favorite of mine._

 **xxDreamWalkerxx:** _Yay! I love hearing people say they don't like slow-burns but are liking this so far! It makes me feel so happy as a writer. Thanks for reading, beautiful!_

 **stopyourlollygagging:** _I was so happy to see all your reviews! I'm sorry about your grandpa. I have one of those songs too, believe me! It's hard to hear it without thinking of my own grandpa. You can picture Rachel however you'd like! I think I mentioned who I picture them as in the last chapter, but the one reason I don't really include any descriptions on what she and Brandon look like is because I want people to be able to picture whoever they'd like! Emmett and Sloane scenes are my favorite to write. Emmett is one of my favorite characters from the series. I'm glad your friend likes the story! There are a lot of things I wish I could go back and change about Skulls and Bones, but I'm glad she likes it. I definitely feel more confident in my writing with Sloane, but I've gotten lots of messages encouraging me and telling me how much my writing has improved since S &B, and I love that your friend gets to read how much my writing has changed even in the small amount of time it's been since writing Regan! Your reviews made me smile. I'm so glad you're liking the story (and thank you for being so sweet). I hope you liked this chapter as well!_


	6. Five

**Hi guys! Sorry for the long wait for this chapter, but I hope it makes up for it! I tried to include a little more Jasper/Sloane moments so hopefully you like them!**

* * *

Sloane had never had a job before. She had babysat back in Texas, but that wasn't generally a steady source of income. This was probably why she was sitting in her car hyperventilating with twenty minutes until three o'clock, when she was scheduled to interview for Le Beau, a little boutique in the town of Beaver about twelve minutes away from Forks. She didn't have any experience with job interviews. She didn't know how to answer questions in a way that sounded favorable towards her skills and assets, and she definitely didn't think she could talk highly of herself without seeming cocky and obnoxious. Brandon had been trying to give her pointers on how to answer some of the basic questions. She could tell them about herself. Sloane Saunders, students at Forks High, moved here from Texas. If they asked why, she could mention guardianship issues. She didn't have to get into the details of her parents and make the interviewer think she was just mentioning it for a sympathy job offer.

The clock read that she had seventeen minutes until her interview.

When Sloane was a kid and she was asked the stereotypical "what do you want to be when you grow up" question that all adults seemed to imprint into their children's heads, she never knew how to answer. While most of her peers said they wanted to be doctors or lawyers or firemen, Sloane had never been able to answer. There was no occupation that had ever stuck out to her. And while most people changed their minds throughout their life and their answer in kindergarten was almost never the same as their answer when graduating college, at least they had ideas. Sloane didn't know what she wanted to be.

"Mom?" she had asked months ago when she and Amy had been sitting in the driveway, taking a break from fixing her broken down junker of a car. "How did you know you wanted to be a nurse when you were younger?" Amy was holding her close as they watched the sunset from the comfort of their own house, the cement underneath their thighs hot but not so uncomfortable that they couldn't bear it. "I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. Sarah knows exactly what she wants. She wants to go to Stanford and become an orthodontist. Isaac wants to be a professor. Hannah wants to be a politician. And then there's me, stuck in the middle of all my friends who know what they want to do and I feel like..." Sloane trailed off.

"Like you're lost at sea?" Amy guessed, giving Sloane a comforting smile. "Baby, I never knew I wanted to be a nurse. It wasn't until my sophomore year of college that I knew what I wanted to do."

"But how did you figure it out? I just keep thinking it will come to me and it never does."

Amy was silent for a few moments as she thought about what she wanted to say. "I was a sophomore in college. I was finishing up my general education and the school was hassling me about choosing a major. I was still undeclared." Sloane moved her head so she could look at her mother, orange with the glow of the sun. "I remember I was sitting on a bench at my university, just studying and trying to figure out what I was going to do. A couple of seats down, there was a girl who suddenly started breathing heavily, panting like she couldn't get enough air into her lungs. She was trying to grab something in her backpack, but she couldn't reach it and she was too weak to stretch her arms back far enough. I watched her with this kind of paralyzing fear as she fell over and onto the ground. And then, it was like my feet just caught up with my brain and I was running over to her. She had an inhaler in her backpack she had been trying to get, and I handed it to her. I sat there with her for ten minutes until she thought she was okay to try and get up. Then, she gave me a hug and thanked me." Amy smiled, a sight Sloane had seen many times in her life. It was always one of her favorite things to see. "And right then, I just knew. I wanted to help people. I wanted to be for someone else what I was for that girl. Help."

Sloane was afraid she'd never have that moment of clarity. She'd never know what she wanted to be. She knew she wanted to work with people, but beyond that, she was blanking. She checked her clock again. Ten minutes until the interview. Her father had always used to say, " _if you're early, you're on time; if you're on time, you're late; if you're late, you're dead_ ," so she grabbed her stuff and got out of her car, figuring coming in early wasn't going to do any harm. When she walked into the little boutique, she saw someone standing behind the counter. A warm smile met Sloane when she was fully inside the building.

"Hi!" The girl took one look at the resume Sloane was clutching in her hand and Sloane received an even bigger smile. "You must be Sloane! I'm Andie." She was a tiny thing with dark cocoa skin and hair dyed a bright fire engine red. Sloane decided she liked Andie. "You're early! Helene's gonna love that! A word of advice, I know it's cold out there, but hang your jacket up. It gets super hot in here and our A.C. unit is down for the count for the time being. You want something to drink? I think we've got some water and tea back there somewhere."

"Sure, I'd love some water," Sloane replied. Andie smiled encouragingly and left for a few moments to grab Sloane a drink. While Andie was gone, Sloane surveyed the boutique. It was quaint and cute, clothes lined the walls according to size. In the center of the building were racks of jewelry and accessories. There were about twelve mannequins around the store showcasing cute outfits that probably weren't practical for the colder days in Washington, but were fashionable nonetheless. Sloane turned when she heard the back door open once more. "Thanks," she said, accepting the water from Andie.

"No problem! Helene's just finishing up a phone call and then she'll come out and grab you for the interview. Have you ever interviewed before?" Sloane shook her head. "The interview here is really easy, I promise. And Helene is the nicest manager ever. She'll probably have you answer the basic questions and then have you come out here and pick out an outfit to dress one of our mannequins. That's what she had me do, anyway." Sloane released a breath she didn't even know she'd been holding. That didn't sound too bad.

Andie liked to chatter, but Sloane didn't mind. She thought it helped with any nerves she had about the interview. Her redheaded companion didn't even cease her sentence when they both heard the sound of heels on the floor. Sloane watched as the woman she assumed was Helene stepped out from the room Andie had disappeared into earlier. She was wearing the kind of outfit Amy Saunders never liked wearing and the kind that Rachel loved wearing. It was a beautiful dark purple skirt that hugged Helene's figure with a cream colored blouse and black heels that made Sloane feel like a dwarf.

"You must be Sloane! I'm Helene Swift, it's so great to meet you." Helene held out her hand and Sloane was quick to shake it, trying to remember all of Brandon's tips about a firm handshake. When Helene smiled, Sloane figured she had done alright. "Let's go into the back and get started with the interview. Andie, you okay to handle things out here?" Andie saluted Helene jokingly before grabbing a magazine to read behind the counter while it was still dead in the front. "You can follow me," she directed towards Sloane as the two walked through the doors Helene had just come from, Sloane trying not to shake in her shoes. Brandon had warned her about how nervous she might be. She just needed to answer honestly and breathe deeply. That had been his advice for her.

Helene had a little office set up behind the wall where they backstocked all their clothes. Sloane could see the colorful sweatshirts and sequined-pockets on jeans before Helene led her to a little office setup with a desk that had a few papers strewn around it. "You look nervous," Helene mentioned with a small smile as she sat at the desk and gestured for Sloane to sit in the little pull out chair next to her. "First job interview?" She guessed. Sloane smiled wryly. She wondered if she was that transparent.

"Yeah," Sloane replied, nodding her head. "Is it that obvious?"

"Nerves are great," Helene mentioned, shaking her head and giving a little laugh. "It makes the interviewer believe that you're nervous because you want the job so much. It makes us feel like you're invested in the interview." Helene pulled out a little stack of cards that Sloane assumed were interview questions. "But I promise you don't need to be too nervous about this one. Just start by telling me a little about yourself."

Sloane tried to remember the tips that Brandon had given her. "I'm a junior in high school; I'm new to town. I moved from Texas five months ago to live with my aunt and uncle." She took a breath to try and relax herself. "Forks High doesn't have a ton of clubs, but I'm in the committee that plans school dances. We recently had a decade dance that the class president and I came up with. In Texas I was involved in the theater department, the chemistry club, and National Honor Society. I wanted to be on the cheer team but I'm not flexible so I helped the girls with picking out music and helping with some costume changes to the uniform."

Talking about the Sloane from her old life was a lot easier than talking about Sloane now. She knew she had changed, but she hadn't realized how much until she was telling Helene a story about her best friends back in Texas for the third interview question Helene asked. She hadn't noticed the differences. She'd noticed the major things, like how she didn't fill the room with blank words if they weren't necessary, or how she was more in-tune to how others were feeling. But she didn't remember how bubbly she'd used to be when she was standing on stage for an audience or how she always laughed and joked with the cheer squad when they went out to dinner after football games. Hell, there wasn't even a cheer squad at Forks High.

It was like looking at yourself through a fun mirror. You could tell it was yourself, but there was so much distortion that it was just barely so.

"Alright, Sloane," Helene said, sounding pleased. "I'm sure Andie already let it slip that you needed to pick out an outfit. Go ahead and do that and I'll just go out and talk to Andie for a little while until you're done." Sloane nodded and the two walked back into the front of Le Beau. Helene went to stand by Andie's side and look over the redhead's shoulder at the magazine she was reading. Sloane browsed around for a little bit, making sure to take care when picking out what outfit she was going to show Helene. She felt confident enough in her fashion skills to show Helene the jeans and stylish shirt with a jacket thrown on top, and felt even more confident when Andie winked at her. Helene said she'd call Sloane back within the week, but Andie winked at her again to relax the nerves slowly dissipating in Sloane's body.

Sloane drove back home after the interview, ready to tell Brandon all about how well his tips had worked. She couldn't stop the grin on her face when she walked through the door and Rachel was sitting in the kitchen, a mug of coffee in her hands. Rachel set the cup down when Sloane walked through the kitchen and set her stuff on the table. "Well?" Rachel demanded, throwing her hands on her hips. "Don't leave me hanging here! Tell me how it went! I want to know every detail. Do you get discounts? How long are your lunch breaks? Are you absolutely sure you want to have a job right now? You know you don't have to, Sloane. You can wait a couple more months until you're fully settled in."

"The interview was great. Helene was nice and told me she'd call me back within the week about whether or not I got the job. I assume I'll find out if I get discounts if I get it. Andie, the girl who would be my coworker, seems really nice. And yes, Aunt Rachel. I'm sure I want a job. I want to help out in any way I can. I know you don't mind me staying here, but I don't want to be a freeloader."

"Well, I think your circumstances are special," Rachel replied, sitting next to Sloane at the kitchen table. "But... kid I am so proud of you. I know... I know Amy would be, too." Rachel reached out and smoothed some of Sloane's hair back from her face. "Sometimes I look at you, your drive and stubbornness and just see Amy through and through. Then there are other times when I'll see you smile at a stranger and it's totally Garrett." Rachel seemed to grasp what she was saying and shook her head. "Sorry. I don't mean to spring this on you and make you sad."

"I like hearing about them. It's like extra layers of them I didn't get to see."

The front door opened and Brandon walked through the door, carrying what Sloane assumed was dinner in his hands. He set the food down on the counter and sent an expectant look to Sloane. "Well? Don't leave me hanging here! Tell me how it went!" Sloane and Rachel cast a glance at one another before the laughter started bubbling up. "What?" Brandon demanded. "What did I do this time?"

"You're just my absolute soulmate," Rachel replied. Brandon sent her a warm smile before moving to stand behind Rachel's chair. He bent his head down and she craned her neck up, and when they met in the middle they shared a quick kiss. "Is that dinner? Because I am absolutely starving." Rachel stood and made a beeline for the food, grabbing what Sloane assumed was her meal. Brandon set Sloane's usual Portobello mushroom burger on a plate and brought it over to where Sloane sat.

"Uncle Brandon?" Sloane asked when they were halfway through dinner. Brandon looked up at her, ketchup running down his chin. Rachel grinned. "I know Aunt Rachel is working on Labor Day, but I was thinking since you and I are free, we could maybe spend the day together? We can do whatever you want."

The emotion on Brandon's face was unrecognizable. His eyes sparkled with something Sloane couldn't place her finger on, but his voice was strangely thick when he answered. "Yeah. Yeah, kid, that sounds great. We'll make a day of it. Whatever you want to do. We can go to Port Angeles or something, see a movie. There's a new restaurant I've been wanting to try out." Sloane liked the way his eyes lit up when she mentioned it, like she was giving him a gift. "Yeah, I'd like that, kid."

"Good," Sloane replied, taking another bite of her burger. She missed the look Rachel and Brandon shared with one another before their hands met underneath the table and Rachel gave Brandon's fingers a squeeze. After dinner was over, Sloane retreated to her bedroom and sat in the little window seat. And just like clockwork, her phone chimed with the same ringtone she had been hearing for the past five months' worth of Saturdays. Sloane flipped the phone opened and felt the smile on her face widen. "Hi, Grandma. How are you?"

Her grandma Susan sounded nothing short of happy to be talking to Sloane. " _Incredible now that I get to hear your voice. How are you doing, sweetheart? Forks isn't too rainy and gloomy_?"

"Not at all. Living with Rachel and Brandon has been a blessing, really. They're so kind." Sloane paused and chewed on her thumbnail, a habit her mother had always tried to get Sloane to quit. "I just wish you were here. I miss you. And I feel bad that you and grandpa are all alone." She didn't think she would have been able to move to Forks if her grandmother hadn't had her husband.

" _Don't worry about me, sweetie. We're doing just fine here. I love the pictures you send me! That friend Angela seems really nice_." Sloane had sent her grandmother pictures of her night out with Angela in the last letter she had written as a way to make sure Susan was still connected in Sloane's life.

"She's awesome, Grandma. All my friends are."

" _Any boys?_ _Or girls, who am I to judge_?" Susan's voice was playful.

Sloane laughed wholeheartedly, shaking her head even though her grandma couldn't see. "There are attractive ones, that's for sure. But no, no boys or girls on the horizon. I need to work on me before I think about being in a relationship."

" _Good. That's the way it should be. I rejected your grandpa nine times before I finally felt like I was ready to go on a date with him, and look how we turned out. There's nothing wrong with waiting until you're ready emotionally._ " Sloane could hear the "but" in her grandma's tone. Her suspicions were confirmed when her grandma continued, " _But tell me about these attractive kids. I've got to live vicariously through you_."

Sloane let out another loud laugh. "Alright, alright. So there's these Cullen kids..."

* * *

"We've got a really good start here," Ben commented as he held up the two sheets of paper. On one, there was information Ben had collected about the North during the war. On the other was a near exact duplicate, only it was information Emmett had gathered. "Do you guys have stuff on the South and how Lincoln was crucial to the time period?" The question was directed towards Sloane and Jasper, and Sloane was quick to slide her paper over to where Ben was sitting. Jasper did the same, but his movements were slow, as if he couldn't decide whether or not he wanted to move his arm. It was the Sunday before Labor Day, and while normally Sloane would be perfectly fine sitting in the library working on the project that was due on the fifteenth, she was ready to get out and plan the day she was going to spend with Brandon.

"I think we're totally gonna ace this," Ben continued after looking at the information all four parties had gathered. "I think all we need to do now is just include some more information about his assassination and maybe a big quote from the Gettysburg Address and then we'll be good." Sloane gave a small smile. At this rate, she could recite the Gettysburg Address from memory. Still, she was quick to stand and let her joints and bones pop and crack before she made her way to the shelves of the library. Her fingers scrolled along the tops of the books, grabbing ones at random that she thought might work. When she returned to the table, it was just Jasper sitting and typing up something on his laptop.

Sloane quietly sat across from him and opened up the book on top of the pile she had accumulated. "So," she said, her voice loud in the silence. If she expected him to jump, she was mistaken. He simply raised his eyes to hers, his jaw locked in a silent confirmation that she wasn't going to get much speech out of him. "Alice told me that you were a history buff." She didn't know why these were the first words to pop into her mind, but they were. Jasper looked mildly surprised for just a fraction of a second before he shrugged. "How did you get into it?"

He shrugged again. Sloane waited for a response but never got one. She felt her shoulders deflate just a little before she continued scanning through her book, eyes peeled for the information Ben thought could close their project perfectly. Then, as quiet as a mouse, she heard it. "I've just always liked it," he said softly, his voice like melted honey. Sweet and low, like a decadent dessert. Sloane had always wished for a voice that made people listen. Instead, she was cursed with a slightly high-pitched tone that wasn't high enough to be annoying but wasn't low enough to be taken seriously most of the time. Sloane nodded in understanding to his answer, happy to at least have gotten a small response from him. She figured she wasn't going to get anything else, when suddenly she heard his honey voice once more. "When you spoke about Paris... you seemed... upset."

Sloane stared at him in wonder, surprised he had even picked up on it. "I..." she trailed off, trying to find the right way to word her response. "I wasn't sad about Paris, specifically. There's just lots of memories there, I guess you could say. I mean, I've never been," she said, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear, "but my parents have." She wasn't stupid. She knew the students of Forks High knew what happened to her parents now. She had been attending the school for nearly a month, and she had no doubt that Lauren had spread around the information she had learned that first day. When he nodded, somewhat emphatically, she knew he understood. "Have... have you been?"

His eyes were unbelievably golden. She had seen Emmett's darkened, like someone had lit a fire inside his iris and had burned it from the inside out. She had seen the same darkness in Edward and Alice's eyes. But never in Jasper's. His never strayed from the beautiful ichor, like the blood that ran through the veins of Greek gods. She found herself entranced simply with the color. "No," he said, his voice that same soft tone, like if he spoke any louder he'd shatter the room. "No, I've never been."

Sloane nodded. It was silent again for a few moments. "Where would you go, if you could?" She wondered where Jasper Hale would want to go in the world. Would he want to go somewhere tropical, like the Bahamas or Jamaica? Would he want to go somewhere rich in history, like Germany or Russia? Would he want to go somewhere in Europe? She didn't know why, but she could picture him in London, the clouds overhead and the rain falling down on his umbrella. She could picture him in Texas too, the little boy adopted by Carlisle Cullen when his parents died. When Sloane was younger and she had first moved to Texas, she had desired nothing more than a silly pink cowgirl hat she had seen in a store coming through. She wondered if Jasper had one hidden somewhere, a remnant of the child he used to be.

He looked up at her again, beautiful golden eyes scorching. Sloane had never been one to have a type when it came to men; she didn't prefer one hair color over the other, didn't know what eye color appealed to her more. But at that moment, staring at her from under unfairly thick and long lashes, Sloane couldn't help but think that Jasper Hale had the most beautiful eyes she'd ever seen. It was no secret he and the rest of his family were gorgeous, but there was something about the honey eyes and the way she could almost, _almost_ see what he was feeling when he looked at her.

"Tuscany," he decided after a few moments. He was thinking about how he'd never bee, not even as a human, and when he was turned he had stayed mostly in the United States. But he didn't just want to go to Tuscany. He wanted to stand underneath the sun and feel its warmth and not worry about being seen. Not worry about being a vampire.

If she had been expecting an explanation, she was let down when he simply went back to scribbling something on the piece of paper in front of him. Sloane opened her mouth to ask him another question, anything to keep that smooth voice from retreating back into the shell he had made himself. Before she could make the words leave her mouth, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. When she pulled the small device out, she saw the number to Le Beau and her heart stopped in her chest. "Excuse me," she said quietly to Jasper, standing from her seat and making sure to fully exit the library before she answered the call. "Hello?"

" _Hi, is this Sloane Saunders_?"

"Yes, this is she." Sloane's heart pumped in her chest.

" _Hi Sloane, good to hear from you again. It's Helene from Le Beau Boutique_."

"Hi, Helene."

" _I was calling because I wanted to offer you the job. You're definitely what I'm looking for in a sales associate and Andie liked you, which is a plus in my book considering she's been with me for so long. Are you available to come in next Thursday after your school lets out and do some paperwork? After that's all filled out, you can start working._ "

Sloane let out an excited breath. "Thank you so much, Helene. Thursday is perfect. I'll head over there straight from school."

" _Great! Can't wait to get working with you, Sloane. Have a great day!_ "

Sloane heard the call disconnect and pulled her phone away from her face, staring at it in awe and shock. Then, with the speed of a racecar, she opened up a new text message and added Brandon and Rachel to the recipient line. _Got the job! I'll start paying you back for the car as soon as I get my first check!_ Sloane felt the smile on her face as she walked back into the building, feeling much better now that the anxiousness of waiting to hear back from Helene was over. Ben and Emmett were back at the table when she walked inside, and Ben noticed the look on her face immediately.

"Good news?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Sloane nodded, unable to keep the grin off her face as she sat back down at the desk.

"I got a job," Sloane replied, accepting the congratulations Ben offered. "I'm just excited to finally start paying Rachel and Brandon back. They've done so much for me lately." Shaking off the emotional talk, which she had decided early on was reserved for Brandon and Rachel and that was it, Sloane pointed to the random book Ben had grabbed. "Did we find anything else we can include in the project?"

The four of them stayed at the library until Sloane heard the distinct sound of graceful footfalls coming up to the side of their table. When Sloane looked up, she saw yet another one of the inhumanly perfect Cullen brothers, the last one to remain. She hadn't seen Edward Cullen up close in the same proximity that she had seen Jasper and Emmett, but now that she had she realized he was just as striking as his brothers. His eyes were a darker gold than both Jasper and Emmett's, burning the color of a dying fire. His lashes were unfairly long in that way girls always hated boys for. She couldn't decide if his hair was red or brunette, deciding to herself that it was a pretty color somewhere in-between the spectrum of the two, like the color of a bronze medal. He was the same kind of untouchable beautiful his siblings were, and yet Sloane knew no one could ever be as untouchable as the honey blonde Cullen sitting across from her.

"Evening," he said diplomatically to Ben and Sloane, sending them a nod of acknowledgement before he turned to his brothers. "Are you both ready to go?" If Jasper's voice was rich honey, Edward's voice was smooth liquor. It was every bit as pleasing as his brothers' to listen to. Sloane couldn't help but be partial to the hint of Southern twang she could sometimes hear in Jasper's voice, but Edward's was like the perfect lullaby. The corners of his lips turned upwards just slightly, as if he had remembered something funny. Sloane thought the half-smirk suited him well.

Emmett looked towards Ben, who nodded. "Sloane and I can finish this up. We don't want to keep you guys waiting," Ben said. Emmett and Jasper began to collect their stuff. "How's your day been, Edward?" Ben asked, trying to include the remaining Cullen boy to be polite. Sloane smiled. She was pretty sure Ben Cheney was incapable of being anything other than nice. The world needed more people like him.

"Uneventful, but that's to be expected in Forks," he replied with a small smile. "And how about yourself?" Sloane liked the way Edward's words sounded so classic, like she was reading snippets of a Shakespeare novel. His siblings sometimes spoke the same way. Ben launched into a rendition of his entire day and it was only once he finished that Edward's eyes turned towards Sloane. "And you, Sloane?"

Sloane blinked in surprise. "Er, it's been okay. Thanks for asking." Jasper and Emmett stood from their seats. Edward took this as his cue to nod to Sloane and send the two remaining at the table a goodbye before he turned around and started to walk towards the exit of the library, his brothers following in his wake.

She didn't know what possessed her to open her mouth, but all she knew was that one second she was watching the three of them walk away and the next, she was calling out Jasper's name in a volume that probably wasn't too polite to the other people in the library. He turned, looking confused at what she could possibly want with him when she flushed, embarrassed that she hadn't been able to keep her mouth shut. "Um, I just wanted to say that... I'm sure you'll make it to Tuscany one day."

Jasper's eyes widened just slightly as he took her words in. Sloane could see Emmett biting his lips to keep a grin in and Edward raising an eyebrow at her statement, but Jasper seemed to understand. He sent her a small nod, his eyebrows furrowing together like he was confused about something before he turned and walked out of the library with his brothers.

Ben gave Sloane a small smirk when she turned back to him. "What?" Sloane asked, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.

"Nothing, nothing, "he said, giving a little laugh. Sloane rolled her eyes and nudged him in the shoulder, bringing her own attention back to the book in front of her. "But seriously Sloane, just be careful, okay?"

"Careful with what?"

"The Cullens are nice and all, don't get me wrong. But they don't seem to hang out with people outside of their siblings. If you really do like Jasper, I'm just afraid he isn't going to reciprocate and you'll get your feelings hurt. I saw it happen to Jessica when Edward turned her down."

Sloane was unbelievably touched. "Thanks, Ben. But you don't have to worry about me. I don't like Jasper like that. I've only known the guy for a couple of weeks. Plus, I'm definitely not in the market right now. I'm just going to focus on myself." She was going to focus on the fact that she was finally going to start repaying her aunt and uncle for all they'd done for her. She was going to focus on the fact that she didn't need someone right now, not when her wounds were still fresh. And she was going to focus on the fact that even if she did like Jasper Hale (which she was sure she didn't, since she hadn't known him long enough to like him in that way), there was no way they would ever be together. It just wasn't going to happen.

Shortly after the Cullen brothers left, Ben decided the two of them should probably get back home as well, Ben with the completed project tucked under his arm. There was simply typing left to do, and when Sloane mentioned she could just pay the ten cent fee to print it out at the library, he offered to take it home and do it for free. Sloane drove the winding road back to Rachel and Brandon's house and locked her car behind her, spotting an unfamiliar car in the driveway. On the side of the car in bright and ostentatious red lettering were the words _PACIFIC PIZZA_ with an exclamation point at the end of the words.

"Thank you so much," Sloane heard Rachel say to the delivery boy standing on the front porch. When Rachel saw Sloane walking up the pathway, she frowned. "Dang it. We wanted to surprise you with pizza!" The delivery boy moved past Sloane and back to his car, leaving Rachel standing with two pizza boxes in her hands. She had to maneuver them to reach out and give Sloane a hug, but she made it work. "We're so proud of you, kid. Your first job! This is so exciting. We got mushroom and olive pizza, your favorite. We didn't get the cobbler special tonight because it was peach and you're allergic, but we have ice cream in the freezer and Brandon's going to make brownies."

Sloane was stunned. "Aunt Rachel, you guys really didn't have to do all of this." The two of them walked into the house and Sloane saw Brandon mixing the brownie package into a bowl. "Really, it's just a job."

"What's she doing here?" Brandon asked, pointing at Sloane with his whisk. Some brownie dough slid off the whisk and fell onto the counter, but he didn't bother to clean it up. His eyes were wide when he looked at his niece. "She's supposed to be home later! This was supposed to be a surprise!"

"It's not just a job!" Rachel protested, ignoring her husband's protests as she set the box of pizza on the counter. "This is such a new stage of your life. This is you doing adult things, like making money. You know you don't have to start paying us back right away, right? It's very sweet of you to want to do so, but we wanted to give you a couple of months to get settled in before that. I don't want you thinking we're just greedy sharks out for your money. I want to make sure you have enough to buy yourself some things, too." Sloane wondered if Rachel knew she was rambling. By the look Brandon sent her when Rachel went to get sodas from the fridge, Sloane assumed Rachel had no idea she was on a tangent. "Brandon and I were discussing, and you can start paying off your car in January, that way we'll pay it for your birthday." Rachel's eyes glittered. "God, birthday. You're going to be seventeen in December. You just got a job. You're growing up, kid." Sloane was a little embarrassed to see Rachel's eyes water.

"Aunt Rachel, it's okay," Sloane reassured, reaching out and patting Rachel's shoulder. "I'll pay you back whenever you guys want me to."

"Why don't you go get some paper plates, babe?" Brandon suggested to his wife. "I think they're in the pantry." Rachel nodded and walked out of the kitchen, her footsteps echoing down the hall. When she was out of sight, Brandon pulled Sloane into a quick hug. "She's just proud of you, you know that right?"

Sloane nodded.

"We both are. And I know your mom and dad would be, too."

Hearing those words, hearing the confirmation of her uncle, made everything better. She gave Brandon another quick hug, reaching up on her toes to peck his cheek affectionately. "Thanks, Uncle Brandon. The brownie batter looks good." She dipped her finger in the batter and shoved it in her mouth before Brandon could react. "Tastes good too."

"Did you just—?" Brandon stared wide-eyed as Sloane dipped her finger back in the batter to get another taste. "Sloane Elizabeth Saunders! What the hell are you doing? That's disgusting!"

"What's disgusting?" Rachel asked, appearing in the kitchen as she set paper plates on the counter. Her eyes were red, like she had rubbed them with her sweater. But she had a big smile on her face.

"Your niece just shoved her finger in the batter we're _all_ going to eat. And then did it again!"

Rachel shrugged and dipped her own finger in the chocolate mix, ignoring the exasperated sound Brandon made in disbelief. "Tastes good, babe."

"I live with savages," Brandon muttered quietly. "Absolute savages."

Rachel winked at Sloane, and her laugh seemed to envelop the entire house. It was a nice sound, something Sloane hadn't heard in a while. When Brandon pulled his wife close and kissed her on the cheek, Sloane smiled to herself.

Across Forks, Alice Cullen sat across the table from Emmett, chess game laid out in front of them. She moved her piece with a smirk on her face, ignoring the laughter she heard from Edward when Emmett swore colorfully. "You shouldn't have played against someone who sees the future, Em," Esme, their adoptive mother, mentioned. She patted Emmett's shoulder comfortingly. "That mistake's on you." Emmett ignored Esme's words and moved his piece, knowing in the back of his mind that Alice already knew the next three moves he was going to make.

The rest of their family was out hunting, Jasper having to hunt every other night since he was going to a school full of humans. Specifically, Sloane Saunders. Edward had heard the thoughts in Jasper's head when he'd seen Sloane flush scarlet in the library, and had sent a low hiss his brother's way when they got too... vivid. Images of Sloane, bleeding profusely from her neck with the entire library in shambles around her. Her big brown eyes suddenly lifeless. Edward was glad in that moment that no one else in his family were mind readers. He didn't want anyone to have to see what he had seen in Jasper's mind then.

"You're thinking about Sloane, aren't you?" Alice asked as she moved one of her pieces, smirking when Emmett cursed again. "I saw the vision. He wasn't going to do anything." Emmett and Esme might have been fooled, but Edward knew better. Alice was shaken by the vision she had seen of Jasper attacking the human girl she had delusions of friendship with. "Seriously, Edward," she mentioned when she assumed he didn't believe her.

"Is she good for him, this Sloane?" Esme asked, sitting next to Edward on the couch. "I couldn't imagine Jasper with a human." She had been certain Jasper and Alice would have ended up together. She couldn't help the small stab of disappointment she felt and was suddenly grateful that only Edward could sense it. If Jasper was going to be happy with this human, if Alice had seen it, she would be supportive. All she ever wanted for her family was happiness. And if Jasper's lied with Sloane Saunders instead of Alice, then Esme knew she would grow to love the human as Alice already did.

"It isn't going to happen for a while, Esme," Alice mentioned, a small hint of bitterness in her words. "But they're going to be brilliant." With those words, Alice moved her final piece and grinned when Emmett threw the chess board to the side. "Don't be a sore loser, Emmett. You knew this was going to happen." Emmett rolled his eyes as his family members laughed. Seemingly done with chess because he knew he couldn't possibly win, he sat next to Edward and Esme on the couch. "He wants to go to Tuscany," Alice mentioned suddenly, the silence in the room following her statement. "I never knew he wanted to go to Tuscany."

"Sloane asked him about it in the library," Emmett replied, nodding his head. "I like her," he said, as if his decision was the end-all be-all. "She gets him, I think."

"As long as he's happy. As long as she's happy," Esme said, patting her son's knee. "It's been a while since I've seen that smile of his."

Alice nodded in agreement. If there was one thing she regret most in the world, it was not being able to save Jasper sooner. That he was alone in the vampire world for as long as he was. She knew it wasn't possibly her fault, but knowing that didn't stop the guilt from taking over whenever she thought about it. And she knew she would spend the rest of her life trying to make up for it. This opportunity, this human girl, was his chance. He would never have to be alone again, never have to feel that isolation.

"He's never felt it since he's met you," Edward mentioned suddenly, reading the thoughts circling through Alice's head. "You must know that."

"I know." But some things were different. And Sloane Saunders was one of them. "But she's going to fill the gaps in his soul that I never could. She's going to be his salvation. The closest he's felt to human since he was changed." If there was one thing Jasper Hale needed, it was that. "You'll love her, Esme. I already do."

Alice would love anyone that made Jasper smile.

* * *

What did you guy think of the chapter? How do you think Sloane is going to fare at her new job? I'll try to update sooner next time, but no promises. I work retail and it's back to school season and I'm going back to school myself on the 28th! I promise this story will continue on, though!

 **a-bit-peaky:** _Oh no, I didn't mean to make you cry! But at the same time, I'm so touched that my writing made you feel that kind of emotion. That's what I strive for as a writer. Isn't Jalice friendship the cutest? They're just such awesome characters!_

 **SheikahLover:** _Angela has just always been a favorite character of mine! All of the humans in Twilight, really. They're just such great relief from the heaviness of the supernatural drama. If there was one thing I hated about the Twilight books, it was that Bella didn't form strong bonds with them and her life revolved around the supernatural friends. I feel like if I was Bella, I would want a little break and hang with the humans sometimes! Sloane's most definitely the same way. Sloane is definitely intrigued by the Cullens, but you're right. She's focusing more on herself and her health and progress after her tragedy that the Cullens just aren't at the forefront of her mind. I hope your classes are going well! I'm in the same boat soon._

 **Bookl0ver1998:** _Thank you so much!_

 **Honey in the Sunshine:** _Trucks and trucks full of thank you's for you!_

 **AnnieBea:** _Hopefully this chapter helps! I'm so sorry for not updating more frequently, but life is so unpredictable. I promise this story isn't going anywhere, though! I hope the Joane interaction in this was enough to carry you through to the next chapter! (And feel free to whine and rant, you deserve it.)_

 **lacomtessa:** _I've always loved that Carlisle called the kids his own because it's just so Carlisle! I feel like that's just his personality. I often forget that he's so young, but then I'll remember and have to alter some of my passages to fit! I'm glad you're liking the story!_

 **kuppcake:** _Thank you!_

 **kimberlyannelston:** _I'm not sure how "soon" it ended up being (sorry about that), but it is updated!_


	7. Six

**Um... hi? Long time no see. I'm so sorry this chapter took so long to get out. I've been so busy with school and work and life in general that it isn't even funny. But I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Brandon had a full course meal prepared when Sloane made her way downstairs that Monday morning. She was still clad in her large flannel pajama pants, her hair thrown up in a messy ponytail and her glasses askew on her face. Brandon was wide awake, making bacon over the stovetop and something that smelled fruity in the oven. When she walked by, she saw that they were cranberry muffins. "Morning," he said cheerfully, giving her a smile. "Are you ready to spend the whole day with your uncle? Oh, happy Labor Day, by the way."

"Happy Labor Day," she said, stealing a piece of fruit from a platter he had set out on the counter. "Uncle Brandon, you didn't have to make all this food." She could see a bowl of eggs, ready to be eaten, behind a plate of toast. "It looks like we're feeding an army." Sloane let out a small chuckle.

"Just wanted to make sure breakfast was covered." He flipped the fire off underneath the bacon and transferred the meat to a plate. "So, what do you want to do today? Port Angeles? We could go and shop around and then see a movie." Without asking him, he started to make Sloane a plate. One of the benefits of living there for five months was that Brandon started getting used to what Sloane usually gravitated towards food-wise. This morning, it was the bacon, fruit (he made certain not to touch the strawberries since he was allergic and didn't want to spend the day he was supposed to be spending with his niece waiting in a hospital), a muffin, and some scrambled eggs.

"Aunt Rachel will be living off these leftovers for the next week," Sloane commented with a smile, accepting the plate he made for her and picking up a fork lying on the counter. Everything but the eggs were steaming, so she started with those so she wouldn't burn her tongue. They tasted amazing. In Texas, Amy and Garrett were firm believers in Sloane cooking for herself so she would be prepared for life as an adult, but there was something about not having to make the food you were eating that made it taste even better. The eggs were gone in less than a minute. "Those were amazing, Uncle Brandon. You should've been a chef."

"If I could guarantee it would pay the bills, maybe I would," he replied with a smirk. "For now, being one of the only lawyers in Forks has its benefits." Once he saw that Sloane had made a decent dent in her plate, he started eating his own meal. "You never answered my question, though. What do you want to do today, kiddo?" His words were muffled at the end of the statement as he shoved a piece of bacon into his mouth, seemingly not noticing the crumbles that broke off and fell down the front of his shirt. "Good news is we have the whole day, so we won't be rushed for time or anything like that."

Sloane took an experimental bite of the cranberry muffin and nodded her head towards her uncle to let him know it was good. "Port Angeles sounds good. I just have to finish eating and get ready. It'll be nice to grab some new clothes for my first couple of days at work."

"That boutique got any specific dress code?"

"Nothing too strict. Just can't wear any logos." Sloane moved onto the fruit and popped a strawberry in her mouth. "We can shop and then go to a movie. That'll bring us home in time to have dinner with Aunt Rachel." The two of them finished the rest of their breakfast in silence, mostly due to the fact that Sloane wasn't lying when she said her uncle was a good cook and she was busy trying to stuff as much of his food into her mouth as she could before her stomach started protesting. Once she was done, she threw her plate into the sink and rinsed it off. "Okay, let me go get ready and then we'll head out." He waved her off, mouth full of food, and Sloane rolled her eyes before making her way to the bathroom at the end of the hall.

Since it was a lazy kind of Monday, Sloane didn't bother putting her contacts in. She let her hair down and braided it quickly before surveying herself in the mirror. She had started getting used to the sad fact that wearing makeup in this town was useless unless you had a magical miracle waterproof foundation, but since she was just heading out with Brandon, she didn't care much. Her room was just a short walk across the hall, the white walls of Rachel and Brandon's house leading into the soft pastel yellow room Rachel had helped Sloane paint her second month in the house once everything had settled down. Ridding herself of the comfy flannel pajamas was hard, but once she finally pried them from her body, she slipped into jeans and a long-sleeved striped shirt, throwing a warm jacket over her arms and a hat on her head. Since it was September and the summer "warmth" was cooling into fall, the days of wearing a simple jacket were going to have to be traded in. Luckily Sloane was getting more and more used to the weather of Washington as the days went on. She hardly even shivered visibly anymore, which was a huge improvement to the shaking mess that had arrived in Forks that first night.

"You're already good to go?" Brandon asked in surprise,raising his eyebrows when Sloane walked back into the kitchen, fully dressed and ready to go. Then, he grinned. "Sorry, that sounded incredibly sexist of me, like women take a bunch of time to get ready. I can't help it. I base every woman off your aunt and she takes at least two hours longer than necessary." Sloane let out a small snort, deciding that he wasn't exactly wrong. "Let's get this show on the road, then!"

The two of them piled into Brandon's car and Sloane immediately reached for the dial that controlled the heat, blasting it so quickly that she shuddered when the air filtered through and hit her. Luckily his car was small and it didn't take long for the air to fill the car and warm Sloane's cold body. Brandon cranked the volume for the radio and instantly, the sound of the old rock classics filled the car. She could recognize a few of the normal ones. The Eagles were playing softly at the moment, and Sloane smiled at the familiar song.

"My dad used to listen to them," she said offhandedly, tapping her fingers on her knee to the beat of the song. Brandon looked over at her for only a second before returning his gaze to the road.

"I can turn it to something else if you want," he offered.

"No, leave it on," Sloane mentioned halfheartedly. Truthfully, her mind was miles away, years away. It was on the Texan horizon, her feet up on her father's dashboard as she listened to Hotel California and Highway to Hell. They were songs that Amy had yelled were too inappropriate for Sloane to listen to at twelve years old, but Garrett ignored her.

"Mom's still going to be mad at you when you get back," Sloane had told him as she stared at the setting sun, her sunglasses perched on the tip of her nose. She had bought them with her own money, and therefore was very proud of the pink frames currently slipping down her nose. She couldn't remember what her parents had been arguing about, but she remembered her dad asking if she wanted to go for a drive with him. They had been driving around Texas for two hours, just talking and laughing and Sloane trying her best to get that sad look out of his eyes. He hated it when they fought. Sloane hated it when they were upset.

"I know kiddo," he said. His feet were stretched out in front of him, and for the first time since Sloane could remember, he wasn't yelling at her for her feet being on the dash. His mind was elsewhere, Sloane could tell. "This is a good song," he mentioned, turning up whatever Eagles song was filtering through the speakers. Sloane had been too young to understand the comfortable silence at the moment, but now she did. It was the silence between a father and daughter when nothing needed to be said, but everything was understood. Sloane knew he didn't want to talk about his fight with her mom, and Garrett understood Sloane wouldn't make him uncomfortable by bringing it up. "I think I'm gonna stay with Jesse tonight."

"You aren't going back home?" Sloane had asked with wide eyes. The thought was terrifying for a twelve year old. The idea that her father wasn't coming home. "But... Dad..."

"It isn't for forever, kiddo," he chuckled out, reaching over to ruffle her hair underneath his hand. Sloane pretended to be upset as she reached up to fix her hair, but she was just happy that he was laughing. "I don't think Mom wants to see me tonight and a night apart might help us." He stared down at her and sighed. "You know I love Mom, right?" Sloane nodded. "Good. Now let's get you home, kiddo."

That night, when her father was at his best friend's house and Sloane was in her bed, wishing for nothing more than for him to come home and things to be okay, she heard her door creak open and saw her mother standing at the door. That same understanding that she had with her dad in his car passed over them, and Amy made her way across Sloane's room and lied next to her daughter. "Budge over, kid, you're taking up all the space." Sloane wiggled away and Amy settled in comfortably, her arms finding Sloane the second she was settled. "Love you, Sloane."

"Love you too, Mom." Sloane had accepted the kiss that Amy pressed against her forehead. And then she had drifted off to sleep.

When she had woken up the next morning, she could smell bacon coming from the kitchen. Her mother was no longer next to her, the sheets rumpled in a faint Amy-like shape before Sloane got up and groggily padded down to the kitchen. She could hear the faint sound of something playing on the radio, smiling when she heard the familiar Elvis song her parents played constantly. Amy was serving up pancakes on a platter and Garrett was making bacon, watching it sizzle over the stove top. And while Sloane hated to see her parents kiss each other, she admitted that she didn't mind it as she watched her father lean down and steal a kiss from her mother when Amy was occupied.

Sloane remembered thinking that all was okay again. Everything was going to be fine as long as they were all together.

Sloane gave Brandon a reassuring nod, reminding him that it was okay to leave the song on while they drove. "My dad used to play this whenever we drove around." She leaned forward and turned it up just slightly, her mind on the Texas horizon. "Mom didn't like it. He used to play it when she wasn't around."

"Rachel hates it too," Brandon said softly, giving Sloane a small smile. "Sometimes I forget how similar they were."

Sloane never did. But she never minded. Having Rachel around was like finding a missing piece to the puzzle of Amy Saunders. It was a facet of Amy's life that Sloane had never understood until now. It was calming to know that Rachel didn't like Hotel California, or bright orange (which Amy had loathed with a passion), or brownies that didn't have chocolate chips in them (" _What's the point of making brownies if you aren't going to put chocolate chips in them, Garrett?_ ") "I think it's nice," she replied after a few moments. "It's comforting to see some traits in Aunt Rachel that I forgot my mom had."

Brandon nodded thoughtfully, looking over his shoulder briefly before he switched lanes and got onto the freeway, merging on with the skill of someone who had been driving since the moment they turned sixteen. Sloane's uncle was a much better driver than his wife. While Rachel wasn't _bad_ at driving, she was jerky and always slammed on the breaks too hard and always seemed to accelerate at random moments. That was one of the small differences between Rachel Fischer and Amy Saunders. In the Saunders household, it was Garrett who was jerky and uncertain when he drove.

"Do me a favor and call the movie theater and ask for the movie times. I'm not sure what they have playing," Brandon said, handing Sloane his cell. "Anything is fine with me. Pick one that sounds interesting for you. The phone number for the place is in my contacts." When Sloane fixed him with a look, he grinned sheepishly. "Rachel and I go to the movies a lot."

Sloane found the contact name ("Deer Park Cinema Movies") easily enough in Brandon's phone and dialed the number. An unenthusiastic worker named Paige told her they were showing Little Black Book, Collateral, and Exorcist: The Beginning all around the time Brandon and Sloane were set to arrive in the city. Sloane held the receiver with her hand and looked to her uncle. "Romantic comedy, action, or horror?"

"Whatever you want to see, kiddo."

Sloane frowned at her uncle for not being particularly helpful before deciding on Exorcist. She knew it would keep them both entertained well enough. "Alright, thank you." She flipped Brandon's phone shut and put it in the cup holder. "Exorcist it is." Brandon nodded his agreement as continued to drive. The drive wasn't incredibly long, just a little over an hour, but Sloane still found herself bouncing her knee excitedly when they finally arrived and Brandon pulled into a parking space. Maybe it was just the idea of getting out of Forks, even for a couple of hours, that made her so excited but she was happy to slam the door to Brandon's door shut and snuggle deeper into her jacket. "Where do you want to go first?" she asked, giving him a smile. He chuckled and shook his head, rolling his eyes. "What?" she asked, throwing her hands on her hips and giving him a playful glare.

"Nothing, nothing," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Just good to see you happy."

"Incredibly happy," she corrected, linking her arm through his. "Lead the way, Uncle Brandon."

* * *

It was embarrassingly hard for Sloane to get up Tuesday morning.

She usually prided herself on the fact she could get up and out of bed without pressing the snooze button on her alarm clock, but something about that morning had her pressing the button three times before jumping out of bed when she realized she only had about fifteen minutes to get ready for school. Rachel walked into her room as Sloane had her toothbrush in her mouth and her hair in her hands, trying to quickly plait it into a braid that looked somewhat presentable. "Late start this morning?" Rachel asked, raising a brow. Sloane nodded and moved back towards her bathroom, spitting the toothpaste in her mouth into the sink and finishing up the braid. "You're usually pretty good about getting up with your alarm."

"I know, which was why this morning was such a surprise." Sloane flopped herself down on her bed and pulled her socks over her feet, her boots following suit. The weather forecast had said there wasn't supposed to be rain today (just the normal low temperature, which Sloane never paid attention to. Anything under thirty felt the same to someone used to the Texas heat), so she wasn't worried about her stylish brown boots getting ruined. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to wish you luck on your first day of work. I know you'll do great," Rachel replied, but there was something off in her tone. Sloane finished putting her boots on and reached for her jacket to throw over the sweater she was wearing. "Also, I... I made an appointment for us with Doctor Delta."

The name of the therapist Rachel and Brandon had sent her to in her first few months in Forks had Sloane straightening. It wasn't that Sloane didn't like Doctor Delta, but she _thought_ that she and Rachel had agreed Sloane was doing fine. She didn't need Doctor Delta anymore. "Oh. That's... surprising." She tried to ignore the slight zing of the negative thoughts flipping through her brain. Did Rachel think Sloane wasn't doing okay in Forks? Did Rachel think Sloane wasn't adjusting? "What brought that on?"

"I just figured it might be a good idea with your new job. You're tackling a lot of things at once, kid. I just want to make sure that you're taking care of yourself and not just trying to appease Brandon and I." Rachel fiddled with her hands, as if she was unsure of her action.

Her reasoning made sense. It was responsible, even. But Sloane didn't want to go to a therapist. To her, going to a therapist meant admitting that she wasn't okay. And after four months of doing a perfectly good job at being okay, the word _therapist_ sent a shock through her that she didn't like. The one back in Texas had been fine. Doctor Delta had been fine. But Sloane was also _fine_. She didn't need one. Which was why when she finished coating her lips with Chapstick to battle the dry cold of Washington, she turned to Rachel and said in the most polite voice she could muster, "No."

Rachel obviously hadn't been expecting that. "N-no?" she questioned, moving from her place leaning against Sloane's door and floundering for an authoritative position that would keep Sloane from saying no again. That was the thing though. Sloane had never said no to her aunt before. So Rachel was just standing there, unaware of what she was supposed to be doing. "I'm sorry, maybe my ears aren't working properly this morning. Did you say no?"

Sloane sighed and nodded. "I said no." Rachel opened her mouth to try and get her two cents in, but Sloane clapped her hands on Rachel's shoulders. "Aunt Rachel, I'm absolutely fine. My grades are good, I'm making friends, I have a job. I think I'm doing a pretty good job of adjusting. Besides, lots of teenagers have jobs while going to school. I don't think it's too much."

"Sloane," Rachel whispered, "most kids didn't lose their parents four months ago."

It was difficult to keep the smile on her face, especially after that particular statement. She could feel the edges of it crumbling as her aunt reached out and places a comforting hand on Sloane's shoulder, but she was determined to not let Rachel see it falter. Rachel looked like she regret how the sentence came out, but not the content. "Exactly," Sloane replied cheerily, "I say I'm doing exceptionally well considering the circumstances. If you'll excuse me, I'm late for school." Sloane pushed past Rachel and grabbed her backpack in the corner of her room.

"You didn't eat breakfast," Rachel mentioned dumbly, not sure how to act when Sloane was disagreeing with her. Sloane couldn't blame her.

"I'll eat a big lunch. And I'll call Doctor Delta later today and let her know that an appointment isn't necessary." Rachel tried to protest but Sloane interrupted. "I'm doing alright, Aunt Rachel, I promise." Sloane pressed a kiss to her aunt's cheek before Rachel could protest. "I'll see you after work, yeah? Can't wait to tell you about how my first day went." Sloane was out the door and in her car before Rachel could even think of replying.

Sloane didn't even wait for the heater in her car to get started up properly. She drove to school with cold air blasting at her from her vents, but all she was focused on was not pulling over on the side of the road and screaming in frustration. Her mind was whirling in a thousand different directions. She had to try harder. She had to make Rachel and Brandon believe she was okay. If they believed she was okay, maybe she'd believe it herself. She'd hang out more with her friends, play the part of a normal teenager and maybe she'd go to college back in Texas and live with her grandmother. She wouldn't have to pretend then, because by that point she'd be so okay that she wouldn't know what to do with herself.

The squirrel in the road shouldn't have sent Sloane's heart into a panic, but it did.

"Shit!" Sloane felt the word leave her mouth before she could truly process it as she slammed on her breaks. Luck was on her side that morning, since there was no rain on the roads and her car didn't slide along the blacktop and instead jerked to a stop before it could touch the tiny creature staring up at Sloane's Camry like it was a demon sent straight from hell. It scurried off in a second while Sloane clenched her hands around the steering wheel and tried to calm her racing heart. "Shit, shit, shit," she said over and over, pounding on the steering wheel. Therapist. Doctor Delta. Rachel. Brandon. Forks. Texas. Amy. Garrett. Her parents.

Gone.

Five minutes. She just needed five minutes to regain control of herself. To make sure she wouldn't fall apart at the seams the second she got to Forks High. She pulled over to the side of the road, out of the way of any oncoming cars, and sighed to herself. Her hand subconsciously reached up and gripped the tiny diamond ring in her fingers, holding it like it was an anchor. Hell, it probably was at this point. Sloane took two shaky breaths and listened to the quiet of the air filtering through her car, finally warming up enough so that she wasn't shivering. She didn't notice. All she noticed was that her heart was slowing down back to a normal pace and she was going to be alright. Moving to put the car in drive, she looked in her mirrors to make sure there were no cars in her blind spots and pulled back into the road, muscle memory leading her through the familiar route to Forks High. The bell had just rung by the time she actually found a spot and pulled into the lot, but she was in her first period seat before the late bell could ring, looking perfect as a picture and nothing like the unsure girl that had been sitting in her driver's seat just ten minutes before.

Her first four classes bled together in a cacophony of sounds and voices Sloane didn't pay much attention to, instead focused on getting through to lunch, where she'd be the most social Sloane Saunders she'd ever been before. Plus, she hadn't been lying when she mentioned she was going to have a big lunch. Skipping breakfast hadn't been the best idea, but she favored not eating over standing in that room with Rachel for another second. So, she simply smiled when Angela went through the lunch line with her and made sure to grab the chicken sandwich they were offering that day, and a side salad to accompany it. By the time she got back to the table she and her friends sat at, she was already digging into the side of grapes that Angela had offered her on the walk over.

Jessica was already prattling on about something when Sloane lowered herself into her seat. "Oh! Ang and Sloane, Lauren and I are having a movie night this weekend at mine. Want to come? It'll be a fun Girl's Night." Jessica wiggled her eyebrows.

"Shouldn't you invite all your friends for movie night?" Eric complained from around his mouthful of chicken sandwich. Jessica rolled her eyes and scrunched her nose in distaste.

"The point of a Girl's Night is that there are no men around." Jessica bunched up her napkin and sent it flying at Eric's face. He flicked it away casually before leaning over to talk to Tyler and Mike about whatever sports game was playing that weekend. Sloane didn't follow many sports besides baseball, and even then she only watched when her father had. Now and then she'd watch a game with Brandon, but he was more of a football fan. "My mom's got an entire shelf of romantic comedies she likes to watch when Dad pisses her off, so we'll have our pick."

Sloane snorted as she took a sip of her water. Angela just playfully rolled her eyes, letting Lauren and Jessica chat about which movies they'd rather play. Sloane was about to suggest her own pick when Angela suddenly elbowed her. "Ouch. What's up?"

"I was just wondering if... um... Ben had said anything else after your last little meeting." Angela picked at the sleeves of her sweater. Sloane gave her a knowing smile. "Not that I care, but I was just wondering," Angela added, quick to make certain that Sloane didn't think it was because she liked Ben.

"Angela, I'm telling you that he likes you," Sloane said, no room for argument in her voice.

"But how do you know?" Angela asked, groaning in frustration. "I'm awful at figuring out whether or not guys are flirting with me."

Sloane had been in a few relationships, but none of them had the substance she was looking for. She'd always compared every relationship she'd ever had to the ones her parents possessed, because that was exactly what she'd been looking for all her life. Her first boyfriend had moved away after only a few months of dating, and though it had stung at first, Sloane had lived through it with the help of her mother's comfort and her father's reassurance that she'd find someone again. Her second boyfriend hadn't been a boyfriend so much as a friend that she'd tried to force into that category because she wanted love more than anything. But she knew that she couldn't force it.

"It's not about whether or not they're flirting with you," Sloane argued, shaking her head. Jessica and Lauren, who had stopped arguing over which movie they were going to watch and instead discussing boys, stopped to listen, intrigued at the topic change. "It's about whether or not they really know you. Flirting means nothing in the long run, believe me. It's nice to know someone's interested in you, but I can tell he likes you because he pays attention. He knows you love your brothers. I mean, he bought them their favorite soda the last time you guys had a study session, right?" Angela blushed and nodded. "He picks up on things like that. He actually notices if you do something different with your hair or wear a new shirt. Those are definite signs."

"How do you know so much about this?" Angela asked, groaning again. "I'm emotionally stunted when it comes to relationships." She ran her hands through her hair, frazzled.

Sloane laughed. "Don't worry, I don't know about this stuff from personal experiences. The two boyfriends I had weren't anything special." Sloane shrugged. "I just noticed what my dad did for my mom. He was always doing little things like that." He always noticed when Amy did something with her hair, or when she would paint her nails. He noticed when she made him a meal she knew he liked, or when she passive-aggressively moved all of his stuff out of the bathroom when she was angry with him. He always remembered anniversaries and birthdays. Never once had Sloane doubted that Garrett had loved her mother.

The memory of that morning surfaced again, just as Jessica was adding in her two cents to Angela. They didn't notice when Sloane subtly slumped in her seat, rolling Rachel's words over in her head. She could talk about her parents just fine to her friends. Wasn't that a sign that she was okay? That she didn't need a therapist? But what was she doing now? Sitting and moping and beginning to wish the rest of the school day would go by so she could go to work and then go home and curl underneath her covers. When there was a lull in the conversation with the girls, Sloane smiled. "Excuse me for a minute, guys. I just remembered I needed to ask Brandon something. I'm going to call him really quick."

"Alright. We'll make sure none of the guys steal your food," Lauren said, in a much better place with Sloane ever since she and Tyler had gone to the dance together. Sloane was glad she wouldn't have to worry about Lauren being angry with her for no reason. She didn't bother grabbing her stuff as she walked out of the cafeteria, making her way into the deserted hallway outside.

Doctor Delta's number was in her phone from their three sessions at the beginning of June. It wasn't hard to scroll through her contacts and find the office's number, pressing the little green cell phone button. She listened to it ring three times before someone finally picked up.

" _Hi, this is Joyce from Brimhall Psychology Clinic. What can I help you with?_ "

Sloane knew how to sweet talk someone when she needed it. Her voice was sugary when she responded. "Hi, this is Sloane Saunders. I believe my aunt, Rachel Fischer, made an appointment for me. Could I just verify the date and time?"

" _Of course. Mind answering a few questions so I can verify that it's you?"_ Sloane responded that it was fine. " _Alright. Date of birth for you, date of birth of your aunt, and your aunt's maiden name, please_."

"My birthday is December fifteenth, 1987." She heard Joyce typing on the other end of the phone. "My aunt's birthday is April twenty-seventh, 1973, and her maiden name is O'Reilly."

" _Thank you, Sloane. Your appointment date and time was September tenth at four_."

Sloane took a deep breath. "Would there be any way we can reschedule that? I recently got a job and Rachel didn't know I would be working that date when she made the appointment." She laughed breezily, like it was simply a misunderstanding. Misunderstandings happened all the time.

" _Sure. What was the date you wanted to reschedule for_?"

"See, that's the thing. I only get my schedule a week in advance and I don't have next week's schedule yet. Would it be at all possible to call you guys back when I know my schedule?" Sloane waited on baited breath for Joyce's answer.

" _Of course. They'll just ask you those same questions to verify that it's you_."

"Oh, thank you so much! I'll just go ahead and give you guys a call back sometime later in the week. Thank you so much for your help, Joyce."

" _No problem at all, Sloane. Have a nice day_."

Sloane closed her phone and released the breath she was holding. She told herself it was normal to feel guilty about going behind Rachel's back and cancelling the appointment, but Rachel didn't get to decide if Sloane was coping. Sloane decided that. And in Sloane's eyes, she was doing just fine. She let out another deep breath before holding her head up high and walking back into the cafeteria like nothing was wrong. When she gracefully sat in her seat,Angela sent her a smile that seemed to calm Sloane's nerves a little. _Everything was fine_ , Sloane told herself. Rachel would realize that soon.

"Hm. That's weird," Angela suddenly muttered under her breath. Sloane sent her a questioning look and Lauren giggled with Jessica.

"What?" Sloane questioned.

"Jasper Hale and Edward Cullen are staring at you. I knew you knew Jasper but I didn't think you were well acquainted with Edward." Sloane took Angela's words into consideration and took a deliberately slow drink of her water before subtly turning in the Cullen's direction. Angela wasn't wrong. However, when she met Edward's eyes, he had the decency to turn away. Jasper just continued to stare, his face etched into a confused expression like a statue. He was staring at her like she was some sort of puzzle, in that way that he always did. It was unnerving today, especially after everything that had happened with Rachel that morning. When Sloane turned back to her friends, she had a small frown on her face.

"I don't know him well, but we met last week. He came to pick his brothers up from the library." She had no clue why Edward Cullen would be staring at her, but she was determined to not let it bother her. The rest of lunch was spent just chatting with the people sitting at the table and making sure to eat all of her food since her stomach was still growling from that morning. When the bell rang, Sloane went to the girls' locker room and quickly changed into the gym clothes she kept in her locker. Gym passed in a blur. They weren't doing dodgeball anymore, which Sloane was thankful for, but instead starting their kickball lesson. Kickball was easy enough, but since the gym was small they had to play on the field outside and Forks was permanently cold. Sloane was shivering the entire period. She had to remind herself to bring a jacket to keep in her locker for the next day.

After gym, Sloane made her way to government. Lovejoy was writing something on the board when Sloane walked in, so she quietly slipped past and made her way to the desk she shared with Ben. He smiled when she approached, waving his hand in her direction. She smiled when she sat next to him, setting her backpack on the desk. "I'm so glad this day is almost over," she said, letting out a sigh and moving her fringe out of her eyes. "I have my first day of work after school and I'm anxious to get started."

Ben waved her off. "Oh, c'mon, you know you'll be brilliant. If you were Mike or Eric I might say differently, but you're you." Sloane barked out a laugh and threw her hand over her mouth to try and muffle the sound. Ben chuckled at her reaction. "They really are smart, deep down. I promise."

"I'm sure they are," Sloane replied, laughing a little more before she pulled out her notebook. The door opened and she spotted Emmett and Jasper right away. Even though his little stare down at lunch had left her feeling uncomfortable, she smiled at the brothers. There was no harm in being nice. "Hi guys," she said, giving them a big smile. "How has your day been so far?"

Emmett was all too willing to converse. "It's been alright, blondie." Sloane wrinkled her nose at the nickname but decided she didn't hate it. "Well, as alright as a day can be when spent at Forks High." He smirked. "What about yours?"

"It's been fine," Sloane replied. Jasper let out a tiny little scoff that had Sloane looking at him in confusion. He just cleared his throat. "Blondie, huh?" she asked, directing her attention back to Emmett. "Does this mean you get a nickname?"

Emmett shrugged. "Try one out if you want. I can't guarantee I'll respond to it."

Sloane was seriously debating on thinking of one when Lovejoy called their attention to the front of the classroom. "I hope all of your projects are going well. Just a reminder that the due date is next Friday. A lot of you are making really great progress on them, just make sure to fine tune everything to fit the prompt. Do any of you have any questions?" No one did. "Alright. You can meet with your groups for about ten minutes and then I'll start the lesson." Ben was already turning his chair around to face the Cullen brothers when Sloane started doing the same, much more gracefully than Ben had.

"Glad we're already done," Ben said, looking happy. "Hey, did you guys catch the game last night? Sucks that the Mariners lost. And to Cleveland."

"Don't even remind me, man," Emmett said, all too happy to talk sports with Ben.

The two of them were lost in their own little world of baseball,which left Jasper and Sloane the odd men out. Sloane sent Jasper a smile. "Guess we're the loners of the discussion today. Are you a baseball fan?"

His lips twitched just slightly. "Somewhat."

If she weren't used to his short answers, she might have been offended. But she knew that was just Jasper. He seemed to be an introvert. "I'm not into sports, but baseball is the only one I understand. My dad and I used to watch games when the Astros played. Brandon's more of a football guy, but he'll watch a couple of games if he's interested. Do you have a favorite —"

"Are you okay?" Jasper suddenly interrupted, as if the question had been burning on his mind for hours. Sloane's mouth gaped open, surprised at his abrupt question. His eyebrows furrowed,drawing shadows over the gorgeous golden color of his eyes. "I mean from lunch. You seemed off when you came back from talking on the phone."

"Oh, I'm fine," she said, nodding and keeping her smile in place. Jasper didn't look like he believed her, but also like he wasn't going to question her answer. "Why?" she questioned.

He shrugged. "You just looked upset, is all."

And that was that. She was left with that frustratingly vague answer. Before she could even think of something to reply with, Lovejoy was calling attention back to the front of the room and Sloane was turning her chair, on autopilot as she went over Jasper's words in her head. _You just looked upset, is all_. She wasn't upset. She was fine. Perfectly fine. Only, she wasn't. Because Jasper's words were burning a hole in her skull. If Jasper thought Sloane wasn't fine, then Rachel wouldn't. And she'd just keep scheduling appointments with Delta until eventually Sloane wouldn't be able to avoid them. Annoyance built up until she was flat out angry. When the bell rang, she turned and faced Jasper, who looked like he had a major headache in the making.

"Thanks again for your concern about lunch, Jasper, but I just want to assure you that I'm fine," she said, her tone leaving no room for an argument, even if Jasper didn't look like he was going to argue. He was just looking at her like she was dragging a razor blade across his skin. Ben stared at Sloane in shock as she gathered her things and left the classroom, but Emmett had a knowing look on his face, like he knew exactly what was going on.

Sloane marched out into the parking lot and to her car, slamming the door shut with more force than necessary. And then the stupidity sunk in. She slumped against her seat, cursing herself over and over for making a spectacle of herself in the classroom and in front of Jasper. He was just being concerned. It wasn't his fault she was on edge. "I'll apologize tomorrow," she said to herself, a promise she knew she wouldn't break.

It was only when she was backing out of the parking lot that she remembered Jasper had mentioned she had made a phone call. But he had been sitting across the cafeteria. He couldn't have possibly heard her tell her friends that she needed to call Brandon.

Sloane shook her head. _Probably just a good guess. You're just on edge, Sloane_ , she thought to herself. But when she looked in her rearview mirror, she saw Jasper staring after her car with a thoughtful look on his face. The same face that told her he was just as curious about her as she was about him.

Alice was staring after Sloane's car with a frown on her face. "She's not going to reschedule that appointment."

"I didn't think she was," Jasper replied. "What does it matter to us?"

"She's obviously hurting still, Jazz. And it matters because as long as her emotions are all over the place, you're going to feel them. I saw you in government. You were feeding off her anger and you were getting angry. It's not going to make sense if she makes you feel angry simply because she does and then you snap for no reason." Alice smiled at the sour look on Jasper's face. "You'll like her eventually, Jazz. She's really nice. Well, from what I see."

"I don't care about liking her. It's not like we could ever be friends." But he didn't like that Sloane Saunders was confusing him. If there was one thing he hated more than the desire to kill every human within radius, it was being confused and feeling stupid.

And Sloane Saunders made him feel like the dumbest man alive simply because he couldn't, for the life of him, understand her.

* * *

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Loved seeing how you reacted to the last one. What would you guys like to see more of in future chapters?

 **destinyroguee:** _I've worked both retail and food, and I'll never go back to food. Granted, my job with food was miserable because my managers and coworkers sucked, but I still love working retail better. Adulting does suck! Can we get a refund? I'm so glad you're liking all the relationships developing in this story! I'm certainly having fun writing them._

 **kuppcake:** _Interviews are the bane of my existence. I don't even want to imagine what the interview for my actual career will be like. I'll probably sweat through my shirt or something else equally embarrassing. Glad you're liking Sloane and Jasper!_

 **NorthWest9:** _Rachel and Brandon are some of my favorite characters to write, I swear. They're just so supporting and loving towards Sloane and they're really good with her. I always get nervous about how the slow-burn is developing, so hearing you say that you love the slow-burn definitely helps my nerves some. Thank you so much for reading!_

 **kimberlyannelston:** _Thank you for reading! Hope this chapter lived up to expectations!_

 **DesolateDreamer:** _I think as the story progresses and Sloane gets more comfortable with Rachel and Brandon, things will slowly go to a normal guardian-kid relationship. I know in my experience, after the death of a loved one, I tended to focus only on the positives because it was easier than thinking of negatives. Sloane's parents have only been dead for four months, so I think she's still in that stage when she just wants to remember positives. As the story goes on and Sloane grows as a character, we'll see times when things weren't so perfect with Amy and Garrett. As for her relationship with Rachel and Brandon... we definitely saw a shift in this chapter and I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you for reading!_

 **Honey in the Sunshine:** _Alice is so adorable, I love her character so much. I'm so glad you're liking Sloane as a character!_

 **mateopotato:** _Hope this was enough interaction for you (it probably wasn't, I know when I read slow-burns I start screaming "JUST GET TOGETHER ALREADY"). So glad you're liking the story!_


	8. Seven

WOW **it has been a while since I've updated this story. I want to start by apologizing profusely but also giving an explanation. I'm a full-time college student with a part-time job, so writing is definitely on the backburner. With that said, however, I love this story and the characters dearly and don't plan on letting them go. So without further ado, enjoy the next chapter of Saudade!**

* * *

"You getting the hang of everything so far?" Andie asked pleasantly while Sloane rang someone up. The woman was only buying two shirts so it wasn't too much of a hassle to figure out how to ring her up. Sloane was decent at math so she could easily count back change, even if the register hadn't automatically told her what she owed. Everything was going well so far. Sloane didn't want to jinx it, but she nodded at Andie and politely told the woman she was helping to have a nice day. The two behind the counter watched the customer walk out with her new purchases, bags swinging in her hands.. "You look like you're getting it. There's not a lot to it, really. Since it's a weekday we're a little slow, but things will pick up during weekends. I think you'll be fine."

Sloane liked working with Andie. She kept the lulls between customers fun and exciting. And it was funny to watch Andie try and convince Helene that September was perfectly late enough to start decorating the store for Halloween. "I love Halloween," Andie had told Sloane with a bright smile. Sloane could deduce this fact as she watched Andie excitedly bring down the box of Halloween decorations when Helene finally relented. She was pulling out ghosts and fake cobwebs and pumpkins, setting them all on the counter behind her. It would look funny to any customer that walked in, but it didn't look like Andie minded. She started decorating the back counter and registers with fake cobwebs. "I love any holiday, really. What's your favorite holiday?"

That question had made Sloane think. She had never really had a favorite. As a kid it had obviously been Christmas, but that's because every kid was excited to get presents. Sloane knew it would be different this year, the first Christmas without her parents, and that it would taint the fun of waking up Christmas morning. She wasn't sure what traditions Rachel and Brandon had for Christmas morning, but she figured she wouldn't be getting up at five in the morning to drink hot chocolate and watch _A Christmas Story_ with her father until Amy actually got her butt out of bed. There wouldn't be homemade banana nut muffins and her father's infamous Saunders omelette. Sloane shook off the sad, smiling at Andie and answering her question. "My mom's favorite was fourth of July because she loves fireworks and my dad would always grill. My dad's was Saint Patrick's Day even though we aren't Irish. I think he just liked that his mom made corned beef and cabbage." Sloane shrugged and picked at her sweater. "I don't know if I have a favorite. I just like spending time with family."

"Well I always have a Halloween party. I live a couple of minutes away, and you'd better be there, Saunders. There will be candy and Halloween movies playing. It won't be huge. Big parties aren't my thing. But you can bring someone if you want." Sloane nodded. She was sure Angela and Ben might like going to a Halloween party. Sloane debated on whether or not she had the ability to get them to show up in a couples costume. And Rachel might see her trying ot get out of the house more, which would be a plus. Suddenly the door to the boutique swung open and Andie stood up straight, her customer-service smile ready. "Hi! Welcome to La Beau."

When Sloane looked up, she was pleasantly surprised to see Alice Cullen standing in the entryway of the boutique, looking nothing short of glamorous in a sweater and dark jeans. "Alice?" Sloane asked. Alice's eyes lit up and a smile graced her face when she recognized Sloane behind the counter.

"Hi Sloane! I didn't know you worked here! I come here sometimes to grab some new clothes. Hi Andie," Alice said as she bounded over to the front desk with the grace of a woodland nymph and grinned at the two girls. Andie sent Alice a smile and greeting before she was off to change one of the mannequins. "I forgot that Jasper mentioned you started working here. Enjoying your first day?"

"Yeah, I'm liking it so far." The mention of Jasper brought back the memory of being rude to him at school. Jasper, the one who she'd snapped at for no reason just because she had been having a bad day. Before she could ask Alice to relay an apology, however, her brain actually caught up with the words Alice was speaking. "Wait. Jasper talks about me?" The second the words left her mouth, Sloane wanted to curl up in a ball. How self-centered could she be? Jasper had probably just mentioned it in passing and here Sloane was, acting as if Jasper's main concern was what Sloane was doing with her day. "Sorry, that came out wrong."

"He mentions you and the history project sometimes," Alice replied, nodding her head. "He felt bad about what happened at school today." Alice absentmindedly ran her fingers through the chains of the necklaces that were up at the front desk, examining them before her eyes returned to Sloane.

"No, no," Sloane shook her head, her blonde hair flying with the movement, "it absolutely was not his fault. I was having a bad day and I took it out on him. He was just being sweet and asking if I was alright. I felt like such a jerk afterwards. I was actually going to apologize to him tomorrow when I saw him."

"No need," Alice said, "he understands bad days. He has them sometimes, too. Only human, after all. I'll explain when I see him at home." Her eyes strayed over to a mannequin dressed to the nines in a brown leather jacket and a cute pink blouse. "Now that is something I need to get my hands on. Mind helping me grab it?" Sloane immediately rushed over to the mannequin and pulled it down from its base, shrugging the jacket off its shoulders and handing it to Alice. Alice barely even blinked when Sloane popped the arms of the mannequin off to slide the blouse off, which made Sloane think that the entire situation had happened many times before. The Cullen sister examined them thoroughly while Sloane redressed the mannequin and put it back on its base. "I'll definitely take these. Luckily, they're my size." Alice moved to the next display, and Andie sent Sloane a smirk. The smirk seemed to say "Alice Cullen will be in here a while."

Sloane rang Alice's purchase up when she was done (which included two more shirts, three pairs of shoes, and three pairs of jeans), and waved goodbye when Alice promised she would go home and explain to Jasper what had gone on at school that made Sloane snap. There was only an hour left in Sloane's shift, which was mostly spent just talking to Andie about her schedule for the next week and what discounts the store would be having come the weekend. When it was finally time for Sloane to leave, she zipped up her thick jacket and waved goodbye to Andie before making the short drive home. The weatherman had been right when he said it wasn't going to rain, so Sloane didn't have to deal with her pesky windshield wipers. Once she hit the driveway of her aunt and uncle's house, she cut the engine and hopped out, shivering her way to the front door and shoving her house key in the lock.

Rachel was standing in the kitchen when Sloane walked inside, setting her keys on the counter and sliding into one of the barstools at the counter. Sloane's aunt had the mail in her hands, angrily throwing bills onto the counter when she got them. She didn't acknowledge Sloane's presence. The teenager slowly reached out and grabbed an apple that was sitting in the fruit basket on the counter. Brandon and Rachel had never had a fruit basket, but when Sloane's grandma had mentioned once in passing that Sloane liked fruit, they had bought one. Remembering that fact made Sloane feel even more guilty about canceling the appointment. "Aunt Rachel?" she said softly. Rachel looked up at her for a moment before looking back down at the bills.

"Yes?" she said, in a tone of voice that suggested Rachel was still upset at Sloane, but didn't know how to be. Up until that morning, Rachel had never had any reason to be mad at Sloane. Sloane tried not to smile. No matter how hard she tried, Rachel was always going to remind her of an angry kitten when she was feeling argumentative. She fought like a petulant child that didn't get her way. She and Brandon had always laughed about it. Though looking at Rachel, she bit down on the insides of her cheeks to keep the smile from appearing. Something told her Rachel wouldn't take to kindly to Sloane smiling when they were in the middle of an argument.

"I'm sorry for this morning," Sloane whispered.

Those seemed to be the magic words. Rachel's shoulders relaxed from their tense position and Rachel sighed, flinging the rest of the mail on the counter to be looked at later. The expression of mild annoyance on her face disappeared, revealing the Rachel that Sloane was more familiar with. "No, I'm sorry. I promised when you first moved in that we were going to be a team, all three of us. And I went behind your back. I know it was sneaky and I should have talked to you about it but..." Rachel trailed off and ran her fingers through her hair. "Sloane, I don't think you realize how terrified I am. I'm so scared I'm going to do something wrong and make everything even worse. Brandon is always a go with the flow kind of person and I've always been jealous of that, because I'm always thinking two steps ahead." Rachel sighed again, leaning her hip against the counter and crossing her arms over her chest. "But I should have talked to you about it. I promised that we were a team and we should have made a team decision on this. I'm sorry."

Sloane reached across the counter and offered her hand. Rachel unfurled her arms and slid her fingers into Sloane's. The gesture was comforting, like one shared between a mother and daughter. It brought a small smile to Sloane's face. "I know you were just trying to help, but I honestly believe that going to see Doctor Delta won't help anything. Not right now, anyway. I'm making friends, Aunt Rachel. I'm getting good grades in school. I have a job. I promise I'm coping."

"But that's the thing Sloane," Rachel said, and it was then that Sloane noticed the tears in Rachel's eyes. "You are so much like your mom that it surprises me sometimes. And Amy _never_ let anyone know when she was upset. Not even your father." Sloane let Rachel's words sink in for a few seconds before Rachel was pulling her hand away and wiping underneath her eyes. "But if you say that seeing Doctor Delta won't help, then I believe you. Just... just promise me that you'll tell me the _second_ you think you need to, okay?"

"I promise, Aunt Rachel." Sloane nodded in agreement. "But, just for the record... I'm not scared that you're doing anything wrong. Or that you're going to in the future."

Rachel looked up at her, and Sloane saw the wetness in her eyes. Sloane had understood throughout this whole journey how Rachel must have felt, taking on a child that wasn't hers and raising her during the rest of her teenage years. But looking into Rachel's eyes at that moment, Sloane finally understood. She understood just how scared Rachel was. And how sad. Sloane was a reminder of Amy, every single day. And while Sloane was upset that her mother was going to miss milestones in her life, like high school graduation and getting accepted into colleges and getting married, Rachel was just as upset. Because Rachel knew that no matter how hard she tried, no matter how many graduations she went to or how many milestones she was around for, Rachel understood it wasn't the same.

But Sloane didn't need it to be the same. She just craved _someone_. She wanted someone around.

"Yeah?" Rachel asked, uncertainty in her voice.

"Yeah."

This seemed to appease Rachel for the time being. She wiped underneath her eyes again and picked up the pile of mail she had previously discarded, sniffling a little bit as she tried to rid herself of the remaining tears. "These bills keep on coming. Don't ever get your own place. These monthly payments are ridiculous." Another bill and Rachel snorted. "And don't even get me started on the loan we still have to pay off for Brandon's law school."

"Yeah, law school probably isn't for me," Sloane agreed. Rachel scoffed and nodded, agreeing that law school wasn't for Rachel either. "Hey, I'm going to go send Grandma Fran and Grandma Susan an email and then do some homework. Grandma Fran's been frantically trying to get a hold of me to make sure you're feeding me and I'm not spiraling out of control."

"My mother," Rachel said, rolling her eyes. "Tell her to stop texting me and reminding me to not feed you peaches while you're at it. God, this woman thinks I'm actually going to give you something you're allergic to." Rachel rolled her eyes again. "Hey, kid," Rachel said, making Sloane turn around and glance at her aunt. "Thanks for talking things out with me. Sometimes it helps just to hear what's going on in your head." Sloane nodded and slid off the barstool, making her way to her room. She tossed her purse and backpack on the floor next to her bed before she went to sit at the chair in front of her desk. She figured she'd get Grandma Fran's email out of the way, since Amy and Rachel's mother was not known for her patience.

 _Grandma,_

 _Hi. I'm fine. Forks is treating me really well. Did Aunt Rachel tell you I got a job? It's at a little boutique in Beaver, about twelve minutes away. I'm still getting good grades, but I need to keep studying biology. I'm not very good at it. Aunt Rachel hasn't fed me any peaches lately. I know to stay away from them. I'm doing okay. Rachel and Brandon are excellent guardians._

 _Love you,_  
 _Sloane_

Sloane clicked the button that would send that particular email to her maternal grandmother before opening up Grandma Susan's latest email to her. She wanted to know how school was going, if she liked her job, if there were any updates about the cute Cullen family since she had talked to Sloane last. Sloane rolled her eyes at that last bit of the email, finding the smile on her face the most easy thing that had happened that morning. It was always easy talking to her paternal grandmother. Talking to Grandma Susan was like talking to her father again. They had the same kind of personality.

 _Grandma,_

 _School is good. I'm making a ton of new friends. I told you about the dance I went to a couple of weeks ago, right? I'm sure if you ask, Aunt Rachel will send you one of the many pictures she took. I'm actually going to a girl's night sleepover this weekend with Jess, Lauren, and Angela. Work is going well too! Today was my first day and I really like my coworker Andie. She invited me to a Halloween party when October comes around. Any suggestions on what I should go as? I was thinking a sheet ghost since it's minimal effort, but maybe I'll take any other ideas._

 _Don't you have better things to do than ask me about the Cullen kids? But, if you must know, I accidentally snapped at one this afternoon at school. It was a bad day today. Nothing to be worried about, but just off. He was being very sweet really, asking me if I was okay, and I just treated him so poorly. I was mortified after I realized, Grandma. His sister came into Le Beau when I was working and said she'd relay an apology, but I feel like I need to apologize in person._

 _I miss you more and more everyday. I feel like a little piece of my heart is still back in Texas with you._

 _Love you,_  
 _Sloane_

Sloane moved to turn off the monitor, finger hovering right over the power button before she found herself moving her hands back to her keyboard, moving her mouse until it clicked on the little internet icon at the bottom of her home screen. Sloane wasn't even fully aware of what she was doing until she was clicking on the internet icon and the page started loading. When the Google search bar popped up, Sloane bit her lip. Should she really do this? Wasn't this invading their privacy? Sloane knew she would hate it if someone did this to her, but she was just so _curious_. And the entire family just made her even more so. So, as her teeth released her bottom lip, she typed in the words _Jasper Hale_ into the search bar, clicking the magnifying glass icon next to where she'd typed his name. She waited only seconds before Google popped up with the results.

James Hale. Jessica Hale. Juniper Hale. Julia Hale. Jacob Hale. No Jasper. She added _Forks, Washington_ , to the search and clicked the magnifying glass icon again, eyes trailing over the screen when more results popped up. Forks weather. Restaurant in Forks. Distance from Forks to Seattle. Sloane made an unsatisfied _hmph_ noise and deleted Jasper's name from the search. Her fingers were flying over the keys before she could comprehend what she was typing. _Edward Cullen_. Edward Cooper. Edward Christian. Edward Cunningham. Edward Culbert. Her fingers were typing again. _Carlisle Cullen_. He was a Doctor. Surely he had some information online, right? Wrong. The only information that came up on the patriarch of the Cullen family was the number and address of Forks General Hospital. Things she had already known.

Sloane leaned forward and angrily shoved her finger against the power button, watching as the screen went black. Nothing. Absolutely nothing on the Cullen family. Was that even possible? Even her name had search results that came up when you typed it in. Most were about the fire and only mentioned her in passing when talking about Amy and Garrett's surviving daughter Sloane, but it was _something_ about her. It was like the Cullens didn't even exist. The chair creaked when she leaned back and gave a menacing glare to her computer. She didn't even know why she was so disappointed. What was she expecting to find? Why did she _want_ to find something? While Sloane stared at it, she heard a knock on her door. Rachel poked her head in Sloane's room and found her niece sitting at her desk, looking angrily at her computer.

"Computer not turning on?" Rachel asked, walking over and inspecting the piece of technology. "Weird. It's a newer one. Only a couple of years old." Rachel shrugged. "Did you at least get done everything you needed to?"

"Yep," Sloane replied, popping the 'p' as it left her lips. "I got everything I needed."

* * *

"Weepy, comedy, or drama?" Was the question Sloane was met with when she sat down at the lunch table. She was between Lauren and Jessica, Angela sitting across from the three and eating her food while Eric, on Angela's left, chatted with Mike and Ben about something Sloane couldn't detect. Sloane raised a brow and uncapped her water, taking a drink while Lauren looked ahead thoughtfully.

"I say weepy, but that's just me," Lauren decided, flicking her hair over her shoulder and poking at whatever the cafeteria happened to be serving for lunch that morning. She couldn't have looked more disinterested in the conversation if she had actually tried. "What about you, Ang?"

"I don't like weepy," Angela disagreed, shaking her head. "I don't want to watch couples cry. What about comedy?" When Lauren made a face, Angela sighed. "Romantic comedies are the best! Plus, they almost always have happy endings. Weepy doesn't always." The girls took a pause to eat a couple of bites of their lunch before their attention shifted to the topic at hand. "What about you, Sloane? Weepy, comedy, or drama for our Girl's Night? Jess's mom has it all."

Sloane blinked at the question. "Er, maybe one of each? We can watch more than one, right?"

"I like the way you think, Saunders." Jessica bit off a piece of her French fry in between sentences. "My favorite movie is _My Best Friend's Wedding_ , so we'll definitely watch that. I know Lauren likes _Titanic_. What about you, Sloane?" Jessica questioned, raising an eyebrow. "What's your favorite movie? I'm sure my mother will have it."

Sloane thought about the question. She and her parents had their favorites that they'd watch over and over again, but Sloane hadn't ever really paid attention to them. Most of the Saunders family movies nights were punctuated with Amy and Garrett doing something stupid or funny and taking the attention away from the movie playing on the screen. Still, Jessica was waiting for an answer so Sloane mentioned the first movie that came into her mind. " _Bridget Jones's Diary_?" Sloane had the comical experience of watching Lauren and Jessica's eyes bug out.

"Oh my God, how could I have forgotten that one? Hugh Grant and Colin Firth," Lauren explained, pressing her hand to her heart and pretending to swoon. Sloane was pretty sure she'd only seen the movie once in her life, but it seemed to be the right answer. "I want more fries. Wanna come with, Jess?" Lauren asked. Jessica nodded, her curly hair bouncing around with the motion as the two of them stood from their seats and made their way back to the cafeteria line. When they were far enough away not to hear, Angela chuckled.

"That's not really your favorite movie, is it?" she guessed.

"I think I've seen it once, and I'm pretty sure I fell asleep halfway through," Sloane confessed, laughing quietly with Angela at the confession. "But it was the first one that came into my mind that would be acceptable for Girl's Night." Sloane took a sip of her apple juice and sighed. "My idea of a favorite movie would be something I watched with my parents. Strong contenders were _Funny Face_ and _How to Marry a Millionaire_." She shrugged. "With our movie nights, it was mostly about family time. We never paid much attention to whatever was playing."

Angela sent her an apologetic look, but Sloane ignored it, instead reaching up and grasping the little diamond ring in her hand. Then, she had a epiphany of the perfect topic change. "Oh, I know it's a little ways away but my coworker invited me to a Halloween party and I was wondering if you and Ben would want to come? You guys are probably the ones I'm closest to and Andie mentioned she wanted to keep it small, so I didn't want to invite too many people." Truth be told, Sloane wasn't sure what she was going to do if Angela said no. Sloane was depending on the fact that Angela would be a buffer, a way to not get upset or sad throughout the night. She wasn't sure what she would do if Angela said no.

Luck seemed to be on Sloane's side, for Angela's eyes lit up. "I love Halloween! I'd have to see if my parents are home for my brothers, since I'm usually the one that takes them trick-or-treating, but I'd love to if I'm free. What're you gonna dress up as?"

"I have no clue. I was hoping maybe you could help me come up with something? I could buy costume pieces from La Beau because we usually start selling little Halloween pieces around this time."

Angela looked contemplative for a moment before she grinned. "I know. Go as Cher from _Clueless_. You've seen it, right? The iconic yellow and black plaid outfit. Just cute enough to get attention but not so flashy that you get _unwanted_ attention." Sloane let out a laugh and nodded, taking the idea into consideration before Jessica and Lauren were sauntering back to the table. "Hey guys, Sloane thought of another good one," Angela mentioned. "What about _Clueless_?"

While Jessica and Lauren launched into a conversation about how great the movie was, Sloane sent Angela a smile and mouthed a "thank you" that only Angela could see. Angela simply sent her an encouraging smile in return. Then, the bell was ringing and Sloane was on her way to Gym, changing into the school's sweats and shirt that looked unflattering on everyone. Well, everyone except for Alice Cullen, who Sloane could plainly see when she walked into the gymnasium. Alice waved at her but kept her distance, listening as Coach Clapp explained what he wanted them to do for the day. They were done with dodgeball and were moving onto volleyball, something Sloane wasn't terrible at but still wasn't very good. Tyler and a girl named Whitney were chosen as the team captains, and no one was surprised when the first person Tyler picked to be on his team was Sloane. Some of her classmates even laughed.

"You know I'm not good at volleyball?" Sloane mentioned to Tyler, jokingly nudging his arm.

"I don't care. You're my friend and I didn't want you to face the crippling awkwardness of being chosen last in a lineup." Sloane laughed as Tyler wiggled his eyebrows. "Am I a good friend or what?"

"Or what," Sloane responded, smiling politely at the next boy Tyler picked to be on their team. Luckily the student population of Forks was small enough for their entire gym class to play on two single teams. At her old high school in Texas, Sloane remembered the gym teachers having to split up a period into four different volleyball teams because the classes were so big. Then again, Sloane supposed that her high school population was the same as Forks's total population. "Oh well. You'll regret this when I hit you in the back of the head with a volleyball."

The statement turned out to be an exaggeration. The students of Forks (save for Alice Cullen, who was as graceful as a ballerina) didn't seem to be good at volleyball at all. In fact, Sloane was one of the better players, actually serving and spiking when she was supposed to. At the end of the game, she playfully bounced the ball off the back of Tyler's head and laughed at the scoff he let out. "Told you I'd hit you in the back of the head with a volleyball," she snickered.

"And to think I picked you first to be on my team," Tyler scoffed.

Sloane changed back into her normal clothes and spritzed a small amount of perfume on her neck to get rid of the sweaty smell she was sure she had accumulated in gym. She decided to leave her hair up, since the volleyball game had left her body feeling warmer and didn't want her hair falling around her neck. It was only when she was halfway to Lovejoy's classroom when she remembered what she was planning to do. She had to apologize to Jasper Hale for her snappy attitude the day before. She didn't doubt that Alice had relayed her apology, but that wasn't how she was raised. Her parents had made sure to instill in her that if she was mean or rude, she had to apologize face to face. And as much as she hated to admit it, she had been rude to Jasper Hale.

When she walked into Lovejoy's classroom, the Cullen boys were already at their seats, along with Ben. She made her way to the desk she shared with Ben and sent him a small smile, turning in her seat and fully prepared to apologize straight away, but she was distracted by Emmett's booming voice.

"Alice told me you kicked ass in gym today, Blondie," Emmett mentioned, grinning widely enough so that she saw his unnaturally white teeth. They literally glistened underneath the classroom lights. She blinked, momentarily distracted from her task at hand as she sent him a confused smile back.

"Still going with the nicknames?" she questioned, laughing a little. "And Alice was overstating my ability to play volleyball. Most of the kids in there just weren't very good." Sloane shrugged. "What size shoe are you?"

Emmett looked confused. "Come again?"

Sloane smiled. "Well if I'm Blondie, I'm going to find a nickname for you. I was just wondering if Bigfoot would be applicable."

"Call me Bigfoot and I guarantee I won't respond," Emmett laughed out, shoulder shaking with mirth.

"What about Big Head?" Sloane retorted, happy with this kind of back and forth. It felt like a small amount of progress, something she was thankful for. As Emmett laughed, she turned to Jasper, fully prepared to start her run on the apology train. He was staring straight ahead, stoically glancing at the door as if he were willing Lovejoy to walk into the classroom. She took notice of the fact that his hand was curled around the edge of the desk, knuckles white. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but that classroom. Sloane had no clue what was wrong with him, but she started to word out the apology in her head, prepared to launch into an embarrassing speech as long as it meant she got it off her chest.

She never got the chance. Because when Lovejoy finally _did_ come into the room, she decided it was the day she actually wanted to teach and not let her students discuss their projects that were due in two days. Sloane resignedly turned in her seat and sat through the lecture, staring ahead at the board and wishing the lecture would go by swiftly. When the bell rang, Jasper and Emmett collected their things and started making their way out of the classroom. Sloane was quick to grab her binder and textbook and dart after them, her little legs carrying her until she was about a foot away. "Jasper!" she called, her voice carrying as they exited the classroom. Outside, the two brothers turned to face her and Sloane awkwardly finished the distance between the pair and her own feet, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. He looked surprised that she was addressing him by name and willingly wanting to talk to him. His hands were still clenched into the same fists he'd made in history, and he looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there in that moment. Sloane gulped.

"Yes?" he prompted when Sloane didn't say anything. The sound of his voice, the little southern twinge of it, reminded her of home and suddenly making her nostalgic. And then made her remember her mother and father, reminding her time and time again that if she did something wrong, she had to apologize for it. She sighed out before she looked up at him from under her lashes.

"I, er, wanted to apologize for yesterday. I was incredibly rude. I was having a bad day and you were caught in the crossfire, so... sorry," she said, shrugging as if she wasn't sure she was really sorry. Truth was, she was just a little uncomfortable talking to him. Especially after the whole Google incident. Honestly, what had she even been trying to do last night? Google the Cullen family? For what? She felt shame, red hot and embarrassing, course through her, and wished she could apologize for so much more than just her attitude. "You didn't deserve it."

He was staring at her curiously, golden eyes boring into her own. He was easily a foot taller than her, standing at an intimidating height. Still, she refused to let herself break their gaze, even with his brother staring between the two of them in an amused way. With his eyes still on her face, Jasper replied. "Thanks for the apology," he paused, "but it isn't necessary. Alice relayed the message."

"Well, I still wanted to say it. It's how I was raised," she responded, shrugging again.

He stared at her with that hard, unwavering glance again. She'd lost track of how many times he'd given her the exact look he was giving her now, but she felt the familiar stirrings of emotion bubbling to the surface. There was something about Jasper Hale that had her wanting to spill her secrets, share information about her past, make him trust her. "Thanks," he all but whispered, so quiet that Sloane wasn't even sure she had heard it. Then, without another word, he turned on his heel and made his way down the hall, leaving his brother and Sloane standing there in the hallway together. Sloane felt the embarrassment creep up and stain her cheeks red. Here she was, so eager to apologize, and he wanted nothing to do with her. Well, she couldn't fault him for that. Especially not after the way she'd snapped at him. But she was selfish enough to let the hurt bubble up when she looked back at Emmett.

"Why does he hate me?" Sloane asked Emmett suddenly, then her eyes went wide when she realized the question had left her head and somehow had flown out of her mouth. "I'm sorry," she said, finding it a lot easier to apologize to Emmett than his brother. "You don't have to answer that. I don't even know why I said it."

"He doesn't hate you, Sloane. He's just really not a people person. Don't take it personally, seriously." Emmett looked conflicted about something, but his cheerful demeanor was back before she could ask him about it. "I'll see you tomorrow, Blondie. Kick some more ass in gym, yeah?"

Sloane nodded, chuckling a little at his joke as he turned to follow his brother. She was left standing in the middle of the hallway by herself, students around her moving to exit the school. Eventually Sloane's brain caught up with her feet and she was moving to her car, waving at Angela and Jessica when she passed them in the parking lot. She saw the Cullen siblings on the other side of the lot, piling into Edward's Volvo and laughing at each other like they didn't have a care in the world. Sloane felt jealous of them in that moment, laughing with their family at something the rest of the world wouldn't understand. She remembered those moments with her parents, joking around in a way no one else understood. It was just a Saunders thing.

For the first time since moving back to Forks, the force in which those emotions came left her breathless. She wanted to curl up, cover herself with blankets, and just let the emotions run wild. She'd spent nearly five months trying to keep them contained, to be the perfect girl so she wouldn't worry Rachel and Brandon. But now she just wanted them to release out into the world. Maybe she'd feel better after that, less like a hollow version of herself. Maybe some of the broken pieces of Sloane Saunders would start to put themselves back together.

But Sloane knew deep down she could scream and shout and hit and punch and kick and those emotions would never leave her. She'd always have that space in her heart that would never be filled. She'd always feel like she was missing something.

When she started her car, she didn't know how she knew it would come on, but she did. She leaned back in her seat and listened to the first few chords of Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love" before she shut off the music and pulled out of the Forks High parking lot, the rest of the drive to Rachel and Brandon's house spent in silence.

* * *

What did you guys think of this chapter? I personally loved writing it, so I hope you guys enjoyed. Now for reviews!

 **kuppcake** : _I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Writing Sloane's mini-rebellion was definitely fun. Sorry for the long wait!_

 **SheikahLover** : _Ben is one of my favorite characters from the series. I know I say that a lot but it's really true! He's so underrated and I wanted to make sure to use how little we get of his character to my advantage and kind of mold him into a friend for Sloane. I'm glad you enjoyed reading about Sloane's little rebellion against Rachel and Brandon. It's solved for now, but who knows... we might see some more soon. Hope you enjoyed the little interactions between Sloane and Jasper!_

 **DesolateDreamer** : _A storm is coming indeed! (Ominous music plays in the background)._

 **101** : _Grandma Fran is Sloane's maternal grandmother (so Amy and Rachel's mother) and Grandma Susan is her paternal grandmother (Garrett's mom). I mention her relationship with both grandmothers in the story, so if there was any confusion, I apologize. Hope you liked the chapter!_

 **Arkytior's Song** : _I'm so glad you like the story! Sorry for the long wait time on this update, but I hope you enjoyed!_


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